ALCC01595c: Detailed Agricultural Land Classification Survey for Marston Moretaine

Post-1988 survey data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, collected between 1989 and 1999. It consists of scanned original paper maps and reports for the Marston Moretaine site, using the grading methodology from the 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' guidelines. The dataset likely includes soil point data and pit descriptions for some surveys.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land capability based on the detailed grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze soil characteristics and variability based on the unedited sample point soils data and pit descriptions.
• Map land quality subdivisions, such as Grade 3a and 3b, for regional planning and environmental assessments.
• Integrate historical land classification data with modern geospatial datasets for longitudinal land-use studies.

Strengths

• Original survey data from a government ministry (MAFF) provides authoritative source material.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer-grained analysis.
• Survey methodology is explicitly referenced to the standard 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' publication.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), provided via Natural England and the Government Digital Service.

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys involving soil analysis and mapping, conducted between 1989 and 1999.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Survey data is from 1989-1999; update frequency is unknown.

Geography

Marston Moretaine, Mid Bedfordshire, England