Agricultural Land Classification Survey Maps and Reports for England and Wales, 1989-1999

Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites, with soil grading following the methodology described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales." Data collection occurred between 1989 and 1999, with maps at scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land capability based on the detailed grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze soil quality variations for specific sites using the unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.
• Integrate historical land classification maps into GIS for land-use change analysis, given the geospatial nature of the scanned maps.

Strengths

• Uses the established grading methodology from "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales."
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer detail.
• Contains original survey artifacts like scanned maps and reports, providing primary source material.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (survey), Natural England and Ordnance Survey (copyright).

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted by government agencies, with results captured in paper maps and reports later scanned.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Data collection period is 1989-1999; last updated date is unknown.

Geography

England and Wales, with specific sites like Barwell, Inglenook (Hinckley and Bosworth Local Plan).