Assessment of Water Quality in the Brokenhead River Watershed

Table 5. Soil drainage class in the 6 Brokenhead River subwatersheds (values are area in
hectares and expressed as a percentage of the area of each subwatershed).
Drainage
Sub Watershed
Class
A B C D E F
Rapid 4,813
(19.6)
1,413
(3.8)
8,063
(10.8)
11,328
(7.4)
16,171
(6.7)
16,452
(6.3)
Well 1,773
(7.2)
3,660
(9.8)
6,675
(8.9)
14,490
(9.4)
20,473
(8.5)
23,532
(8.9)
Imperfect 1,289
(5.3)
6,217
(16.6)
9,787
(13.1)
30,014
(19.6)
62,664
(26.1)
68,737
(26.2)
Poor 0
(0.0)
0
(0.0)
0
(0.0)
4,996
(3.3)
5,898
(2.5)
6,078
(2.3)
Very Poor 16,525
(67.6)
26,116
(69.7)
49,992
(66.8)
89,126
(58.1)
109,193
(45.5)
114,402
(43.6)
Other 41
(0.2)
49
(0.1)
308
(0.4)
3,417
(2.2)
25,402
(10.6)
33,136
(12.6)
Other includes: water, marsh, urban, rock and unknown
All of the above-mentioned soil characteristics (and others) have a significant influence on the
capability for agricultural activity, as well as the nature of agricultural activity. The term
Agricultural Capability is a method of classifying land based the ability for land to sustain
agriculture. It is a system of classification that is based on the Canada Land Inventory System
and provides a basis for land use decision making (AA-F and PFRA, 2004). The system has 7
capability classes, with Class 1 having the highest capability for agriculture (and the fewest
limitations) and Class 7, the lowest capability. Sub-class descriptors can also be used to identify
what the limiting factors (e.g., excess moisture, low fertility, salinity, stoniness, etc.). Figure 8
provides a graphical representation of Agricultural Capability across the Brokenhead River
watershed.
22 | P age