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Using Aerial Photos for Nutrient Management Planning

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Search for aerial photos online using the external Aerial Photo Record System (APRS) website maintained by the Air Photo Distribution Office. APRS is the database program used to search for photographic projects covering a specific section or block of sections (block searches are not as accurate as specific searches). To complete a search, simply enter the legal land description starting with the section number. Only use the numerical values of a legal description (e.g., the Section, Township, Range, and Meridian numbers). Each set of numbers must be separated by dots, dashes, or spaces (e.g., 34-50-23-4).

APRS Website:

https://securexnet.env.gov. ab.ca/aprs/index.html

Username: guest Password: guest

Air photo(s) can be selected and viewed from the library knowing the year, type of film and scale of photography taken for any given legal land description.

Air Photo Products

The Alberta Government’s Air Photo Distribution Office (www.srd.gov.ab.ca/land/g_airphotos.html) houses a collection of over 1.4 million aerial photos of the entire province dating back to 1949. Copies of these photos may be purchased in several formats.

All air photos are produced on demand basis. One copy of each aerial photo is available for viewing in the Distribution Office reference library.

The photographs were taken at many different scales. Common scales available include:

1:20,000 1:30,000 1:40,000 1:60,000 The entire province has been photographed in black and white. Larger scale photography (greater than 1:30000) and colour photography may be obtained for selected areas within the province. Contact the Distribution Office for more information on special photographs.

How to Obtain Aerial Photos

To minimize ordering mistakes, visit the Air Photo Distribution Office in Edmonton. The staff can provide assistance in selecting the right photo and format. Orders can also be placed by calling toll free at 310-0000 then (780) 427-3520, e-mailing air.photo@gov.ab.ca, faxing to (780) 422-9683, or writing to:

Air Photo Distribution 9920 – 108 Street Main Floor Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2M4

To order an air photo, the following information is required: legal land description, type of product, intended use, mailing address and phone, fax or e-mail address.

The Alberta Soil Information Viewer (ASIV)

The ASIV can be used to view and query soil data for the agricultural area of Alberta. AGRASID Version 3.0 is a digital database of seamless GIS coverage and data files, which describe the soil landscapes for the agricultural regions of the province.

You can view soil related information and colour aerial photos (maximum scale varies by region). Tools are available that allow users to label, mark up and calculate areas on the aerial photos. Finished photos can be printed in PDF format. Tutorials are available to assist new users with features and capabilities of the viewer. For example, instructions on how to manipulate aerial images for nutrient management planning can be found at www.agric. gov.ab.ca/flash/ASIV/manure_presentation.html The ASIV can be accessed online by entering “soil information viewer” in the search window on Ropin’ the Web.