Estimates of critical loads and of acidity and nutrient nitrogen for mineral soils in Canada

The concept of “critical loads” refers to the threshold levels of pollutants or stressors that an ecosystem can tolerate without experiencing significant harm or degradation. When the input of these stressors exceeds the critical load (“exceedance”), the ecosystem may experience biological damage. Critical loads are particularly important for understanding how atmospheric deposition may impact ecological health and for informing policy decisions aimed at environmental protection and sustainability. In a special study, the steady-state Simple Mass Balance model was applied to terrestrial ecosystems across Canada to produce nation-wide maps of critical loads of acidity (represented by maps of maximum sulphur critical loads, CLmaxS; maximum nitrogen critical loads, CLmaxN; and minimum nitrogen critical loads, CLminN) and nutrient nitrogen (CLnutN). The maps are provided on a 250 m grid across all provinces and territories for natural and semi-natural terrestrial ecosystems across Canada (excluding organic soils, agricultural areas, and the Hudson Plains ecozone).

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated April 17, 2026, 21:49 (UTC)
Created April 17, 2026, 21:49 (UTC)
contact_email enviroinfo@ec.gc.ca
contact_person {"en": "Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch/Air Quality Research Division, , natchem@ec.gc.ca", "fr": "Gouvernement du Canada; Environnement et Changement climatique Canada; Direction générale des sciences et de la technologie/Division de la recherche en qualité de l'air, , natchem@ec.gc.ca"}
criticality_level []
data_dictionary []
geographic_scope ["0"]
open_canada_collection primary
open_canada_date_modified 2024-10-23 04:00:00
open_canada_date_published 2024-11-01 04:00:00
open_canada_keywords {"en": ["Environmental impact assessment", "Air quality"], "fr": ["Évaluation environnementale", "Qualité de l'air"]}
open_canada_subject ["nature_and_environment"]
sensitivity_level unrestricted
title_fr Estimations des charges critiques ainsi que de l’acidité et de l’azote nutritif pour les sols minéraux au Canada
update_frequency as_needed