Total soil moisture is the modelled amount of plant available water (mm) in the root zone of the soil. The value given is the amount calculated to be present on the modeled day of the product.Values are computed using the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB)

This data series represents the volumetric soil moisture (percent saturated soil) for the surface layer (<5 cm). The data is created daily and is averaged for the ISO standard week and month. The data is produced from passive microwave satellite data collected by the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite and converted to soil moisture using version 6.20 of the SMOS soil moisture processor.The data are produced by the European Space Agency and obtained under a Category 1 proposal for Level 2 soil moisture data. The data are gridded to a resolution of 0.25 degrees. Data quality flags have been applied to remove areas where rainfall is present during the acquisition, where snow cover is detected and when Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is above an acceptable threshold.

Difference from normal soil moisture is the modelled amount of plant available water (mm) in the root zone of the soil, minus the average amount that has historically been available on that day. This value is intended to provide users with a representation of conditions above or below normal and by the amount of water (mm).Values are computed using the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB)

Percent of normal soil moisture is the modelled amount of plant available water (mm) in the root zone of the soil, divided by the average amount that has historically been available on that day. This value is intended to provide users with a representation of conditions above or below normal as a percentage.Values are computed using the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB)

Soil Survey Project Boundaries (soil mapping study areas) contains the soil survey project area and attributes describing each project (project level metadata), plus links to the locations of other data associated with the project (e.g., soil survey reports, polygon datasets, plotfiles, scanned maps, legends). Soil Mapping divides the landscape into units according to soil association, name, type, drainage, parent material, and texture. This layer is derived from the STE_TEI_PROJECT_BOUNDARIES_SP layer by filtering on the PROJECT_TYPE attribute. Project types include: SOIL, TIMSOI, and SOILSW. Current version: v11 (published on 2024-10-03) Previous versions: v10 (published on 2023-11-14), v9 (published on 2023-03-01), v8 (published on 2016-09-01) The Soil Survey dataset contains project boundaries as well as the soil survey polygons which are available in a variety of formats including: 1) via the [Soil Information Finder Tool](http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/land/soil-information-finder) Mapping App (interactive app), 2) [Soil Survey Spatial data](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/soil-survey-spatial-view) with [Soil Name and Layer Files](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/soil-name-and-layer-files) (for download or viewing via iMapBC), or as 3) [Soil Mapping Data Packages](http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/esd/distdata/ecosystems/Soil_Data/Soil_Data_Pkgs/) with geodatabase or shape files, and a data dictionary.

The term "Palmer Drought Index" has been used collectively to represent multiple indices. This index is simply a water balance model which analyzes precipitation and temperature, and used as a tool to measure meteorological and hydrological drought across space and time. All versions of the index uses the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget to model the movement of water within the system, and a daily Priestly-Taylor model to estimate evapotranspiration. The Palmer Drought Index (PDI) uses monthly temperature and precipitation data to calculate a simple soil water balance. The index is a relative measure that typically ranges from -4 (extremely dry) to +4 (extremely wet) and represents how soil moisture availability differs from that expected for a given place and time of year. The PDI includes a "memory" component that considers past conditions and persistence of soil moisture surplus or deficit.The Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI) is a specific version of the PDI that accounts for longer-term drought that reduces surface and groundwater supply.

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Soil Development by Ecoregion” dataset contains tables that provide soil development information for components within the ecoregion framework polygon. It provides soil development codes and their English and French-language descriptions as well as the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies. The soil development descriptions are based on the second edition of the Canadian System of Soil Classification (Agriculture Canada Expert Committee on Soil Survey, 1987).

The “Soil Landscapes of Canada V.2.2/V.3.1 - Soil Order” displays the highest (most general) level of soil classification. Within the Canadian System of Soil Classification there are ten recognized soil orders (Soil Classification Working Group 1998). This system is hierarchical (from general to specific). Soil orders are further subdivided to great groups, subgroups, families, and series.

The National Ecological Framework for Canada's "Soil Development by Ecozone” dataset contains tables that provide soil development information for components within the ecozone framework polygon. It provides soil development codes and their English and French-language descriptions as well as the percentage of the polygon that the component occupies. The soil development descriptions are based on the second edition of the Canadian System of Soil Classification (Agriculture Canada Expert Committee on Soil Survey, 1987).

The term "Palmer Drought Index" has been used collectively to represent multiple indices. This index is simply a water balance model which analyzes precipitation and temperature, and used as a tool to measure meteorological and hydrological drought across space and time. All versions of the index uses the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget to model the movement of water within the system, and a daily Priestly-Taylor model to estimate evapotranspiration.The Palmer Drought Index (PDI) uses monthly temperature and precipitation data to calculate a simple soil water balance. The index is a relative measure that typically ranges from -4 (extremely dry) to +4 (extremely wet) and represents how soil moisture availability differs from that expected for a given place and time of year. The PDI includes a "memory" component that considers past conditions and persistence of soil moisture surplus or deficit. The Modified Palmer Drought Index (PMDI) is obtained from the sum of the wet and dry terms weighted by probability values. The PMDI has the same value as the PDI during established dry or wet spells but can be different during transition periods.