Author’s Note
The Laurentian Great Lakes are an important part of the US and Canada. Home to 33 million
people, including 90% of all Canadians, the Great Lakes account for 20% of the world and
90% of the US surface freshwater. Key industries in the Great Lakes region include shipping,
steel and automobile production, energy generation, fishing, pulp and paper making, agriculture, and recreation. To date, there has been no comprehensive inventory of the soils of the
region, which is undergoing dramatic climate change and environmental degradation.
This book was prepared from US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service databases, including the Web Soil Survey, Soil Series Extent Explorer, soil
classification and characterization databases, and county soil surveys, supplemented by
shoreline viewer software, a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, the author’s
research, consultation with colleagues, and trips around the Great Lakes.
Methodology
Identification of Soil Series
Soil series within 5 km of the coastline of the US portion of the Great Lakes were identified by
following the coastline with Soil Extent Explorer (Natural Resources Conservation Service,
2018a) set at the broadest viewing scale of 1:50,000. For the Canadian GLCZ, the coastlines of
24 counties or districts (Table 1.4) were followed manually and soil series were identified. The
scales of these maps were generally 1:63,360 but occasionally were 1:126,720.
Soil Classification
Spreadsheets listing soil series for US and Canada were prepared. For the US Great Lakes
coastline, the NRCS Soil Series Classification Database (SC) was used to create a report for
the list of series in the US with the download option (NRCS, 2018b). For the Canadian GLCZ,
soil series were examined in the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils of Ontario database
(http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/soils/on/soils.html). Soil classification data were entered onto the
spreadsheet manually.
Official Soil Series Descriptions
For the US GLCZ, Official Soil Series Descriptions (NRCS, 2018c) of 664 soil series were
examined, and the following data were added manually to the spreadsheet: parent materials,
landform, vegetation, type and thickness of diagnostic horizons, whether or not there were
competing soil series, and geographically associated soils. For the Canadian GLCZ, soil
descriptions of 144 soil series were examined, and the following data were added manually to
the spreadsheet: parent materials, landform, and texture.
Soil Characterization
For the US GLCZ, primary soil characterization was obtained for representative pedons of key
soil series from the NRCS Soil Characterization Database (NRCS, 2018c). Only basic data
were included in Tables 5.1 to 5.5, including percent clay, silt, sand, organic C, base
xi
The Laurentian Great Lakes are an important part of the US and Canada. Home to 33 million
people, including 90% of all Canadians, the Great Lakes account for 20% of the world and
90% of the US surface freshwater. Key industries in the Great Lakes region include shipping,
steel and automobile production, energy generation, fishing, pulp and paper making, agriculture, and recreation. To date, there has been no comprehensive inventory of the soils of the
region, which is undergoing dramatic climate change and environmental degradation.
This book was prepared from US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service databases, including the Web Soil Survey, Soil Series Extent Explorer, soil
classification and characterization databases, and county soil surveys, supplemented by
shoreline viewer software, a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, the author’s
research, consultation with colleagues, and trips around the Great Lakes.
Methodology
Identification of Soil Series
Soil series within 5 km of the coastline of the US portion of the Great Lakes were identified by
following the coastline with Soil Extent Explorer (Natural Resources Conservation Service,
2018a) set at the broadest viewing scale of 1:50,000. For the Canadian GLCZ, the coastlines of
24 counties or districts (Table 1.4) were followed manually and soil series were identified. The
scales of these maps were generally 1:63,360 but occasionally were 1:126,720.
Soil Classification
Spreadsheets listing soil series for US and Canada were prepared. For the US Great Lakes
coastline, the NRCS Soil Series Classification Database (SC) was used to create a report for
the list of series in the US with the download option (NRCS, 2018b). For the Canadian GLCZ,
soil series were examined in the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils of Ontario database
(http://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/soils/on/soils.html). Soil classification data were entered onto the
spreadsheet manually.
Official Soil Series Descriptions
For the US GLCZ, Official Soil Series Descriptions (NRCS, 2018c) of 664 soil series were
examined, and the following data were added manually to the spreadsheet: parent materials,
landform, vegetation, type and thickness of diagnostic horizons, whether or not there were
competing soil series, and geographically associated soils. For the Canadian GLCZ, soil
descriptions of 144 soil series were examined, and the following data were added manually to
the spreadsheet: parent materials, landform, and texture.
Soil Characterization
For the US GLCZ, primary soil characterization was obtained for representative pedons of key
soil series from the NRCS Soil Characterization Database (NRCS, 2018c). Only basic data
were included in Tables 5.1 to 5.5, including percent clay, silt, sand, organic C, base
xi