Thesis Project
Crop rotation is the important agricultural practice of planting different crops over the course of several years to improve soil health. Through this project maps have been created for the Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, to discern geographical trends in crop rotation practices and changes to pasturelands throughout the province. These maps will be used for public education, and to help direct conservation efforts and policies. In addition to these maps, models have been created to allow the same analysis to be conducted in the future.
Crop Rotation
Methodology
The data for corn, wheat and soy was extracted from the AAFC data for each year (2012 – 2014) and recombined to calculate the frequency for each crop type. The frequency data was combined together to create an overall file where each field is classified by which crops were present within the given years.
Model
This is the model created to process the crop rotation data. In addition to being one of the products of the project, it provides greater detail about the steps taken to complete the maps.
Results
Crop rotation in the Niagara watershed.
Crop Rotation in Haldimand Norfolk County.
This map shows the percentage of crop area in each watershed which planted all three types of crops over the study period.
Crop rotation in the Niagara watershed.
Pasture Change
Methodology
The data for pastureland was extracted from the AAFC data for 2012 and 2014. The data from both years were combined together to create an overlay of change based on areas of difference or areas where no change has occurred
Model
This is the model created to process the pastureland data. In addition to being one of the products of the project, it provides greater detail about the steps taken to complete the maps.
Results
Changes in pastureland in the Maitland watershed.
Changes in pastureland in Grey County.
This map shows the percentage of change from 2012 to 2014 for each county.
Changes in pastureland in the Maitland watershed.