Agricultural Land Classification: Detailed Site Surveys from England and Wales (1989-1999)

England and Wales agricultural land classification data from detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps, survey reports, and for some sites, unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions. Surveys were performed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food using the grading methodology described in the 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' guidelines.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical agricultural land quality based on the Grade 3 subdivision into 3a and 3b mentioned in the description
• Train geospatial models for land classification using scanned map data referenced in the description
• Correlate soil pit descriptions with land grades for soil science research
• Study regional land use changes over a decade using the 1989-1999 survey period

Strengths

• Surveys use a defined and referenced grading methodology ('Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales')
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer detail
• Contains multiple data types: scanned maps, reports, and for some sites, soil point data

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; Natural England

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys with mapping at scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Historical data from surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999.

Geography

England and Wales (specific site: Boroughbridge, Stump Close)