Introduction

The Land Suitability Rating System (LSRS) is a system and program to replace the older Canada Land Inventory (CLI) ratings.

The older CLI rating system had a number of deficiences. These included:

• lack of consideration for climate
• not all soils taken into account (e.g., organic)
• ratings were determined subjectively - no repeatable objective process
• no clear or readily available documents/explanation on how ratings are determined
• ratings were not consistent over large geographic areas (e.g., nationally).

LSRS addresses the above issues and provides the foundation for a modern land suitability rating system to assist in land use assessment and land management.

The above image is a portion of a larger map showing the LSRS ratings for an area in east central Alberta [input parameters: Canola model; AGRASID soil information; 1961-1990 standard climate. Best is shown "red"].