Agriculture and the Environment

The capacity or fitness of soils to support crop growth without becoming degraded or otherwise harming the environment must be maintained. Moreover, high capability farmlands are limited in Canada, and from an agricultural perspective, these must be conserved for production.

Background

Soil Quality

Soil, naturally formed from existing parent material such as eroded rock and dead organic matter, must be sustainably managed because it is not quickly replaced. Soils provide many valuable services to society. Their value as a medium for crop production has long been recognized, and their degradation, as might result from wind and water erosion, salinization, loss of organic matter, or compaction, is a concern in every agricultural region of Canada. Farmers depend on healthy soil for their livelihood, and therefore have a direct economic incentive to ensure it is sustained as a medium for growing crops. Less well known are other ways in which agricultural soils benefit society, such as by providing habitat for some species, retaining and filtering water, and by sequestering carbon, thus helping mitigate the greenhouse effect. Through good soil management practices, farmers can enhance such public benefits of soils. Canada's farmers have, in general, considerably improved the sustainability of their soil management practices on land used for crops and grazing.

Agri-environmental indicators related to soil quality include the Risk of Water Erosion, Risk of Wind Erosion, Risk of Tillage Erosion, Soil Organic Carbon, Risk of Soil Compaction and the Risk of Soil Salinization. The Agri-Environmental indicator project found that the management of agricultural soils in Canada has improved overall between 1981 and 1996, with an associated reduction in most risks of soil degradation.

Land Use

Over the past 30 years, Canada's total supply of farmland has remained fairly constant at around 68 million hectares.

However, important changes have occurred over the years in how this land is used. Statistics Canada reports that between 1901 and 1996, Canada's cultivated land area (land under crops and summerfallow) expanded five-fold. In contrast, the supply of dependable agricultural land (Classes 1, 2, and 3 of the Canada Land Inventory Capability Classification for Agriculture) dropped by an estimated 16% over this period because of conversion to urban and other non-agricultural uses. In the 1980s, the area of land under cultivation in Canada surpassed the supply of dependable land. This situation indicates that agricultural production is becoming more reliant on marginal land, with possible effects on productivity, soil quality, wildlife habitat, and other environmental aspects.

Activities

The Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) recognizes that soil quality and land use are issues which need to be addressed by the Agricultural Sector. One of the environmental goals of the APF is to accelerate on farm action, to reduce agricultural risks to the health of soils, as well as to provide benefits. The key priority areas are soil organic matter and soil erosion caused by water, wind or tillage.

The Greencover Program, which aims to promote sustainable land use, is one way that AAFC is contributing to the improvement of Canadian soils.

Further information

Contacts within the Environment Bureau:
Alexandre Lefebvre (Agri-Environmental Indicators)

Related documents

Executive Summary: The most important link between farming practices and sustainable agriculture is the health, or quality, of our agricultural soils. If soil becomes degraded, more resources in terms of time, money, energy, and chemicals will be needed to produce less-abundant crops of a lower quality, and the goals of sustainable agriculture will not be met. On the other hand, if soil degradation is reversed and soil health is maintained or improved by using appropriate farming methods, sustainable agriculture can be a reality.

In what condition do we find Canada's agricultural soils today? Are soils really decreasing in quality and, if so, what measures have been taken to reverse soil degradation and to build our soils back up? This document begins to answer these questions by presenting recent findings of Canadian research on soil quality. It examines agricultural activity in an environmental context and focuses on farming systems as the main vehicle for halting soil degradation, and maintaining or improving soil health.

Executive Summary: The Prairie Agricultural Landscapes (PAL) study is designed to help focus and direct the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration's (PFRA) future programs and activities centred on sustainable land use, specifically in the area of healthy and productive agricultural lands.

Resources conservation and economic viability are paramount to the long-term prosperity of the agriculture industry and rural areas of the Prairie provinces. Economic factors are the dominant forces driving change on the Prairie Agricultural landscape and will spur the growth in demand for primary and processed goods.

This document includes a unique regional analysis to the array of resource assessments performed on the Prairie region over the past two decades. A second document, Prairie Agricultural Landscapes: Foundations for Growth, identifies opportunities for growth and impacts of agricultural expansion on land resources. Approaches to ensure sustainable development in the future are identified.

Issue