Agricultural Land Classification detailed Post 1988 survey ALCL03297

Original paper maps and survey reports from the Darfield, Firtree Link OCCS site survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The data includes detailed Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) grades, with Grade 3 subdivided into 3a and 3b, following the methodology described in the official government guidelines. Scanned maps range in scale from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000, and some surveys include unedited soil sample point data and pit descriptions.

Use Cases

• Modeling agricultural land quality based on the detailed ALC grading system mentioned in the description.
• Analyzing historical land-use suitability based on scanned survey maps and soil pit descriptions.
• Training geospatial models for soil classification using the unedited sample point data referenced in the description.

Strengths

• Uses the official 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' grading methodology.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer detail.
• Contains original scanned maps at scales ranging from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys, including soil sampling and mapping, conducted between 1989 and 1999.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Survey data is from 1989-1999; last update date for the dataset is unknown.

Geography

England and Wales, specifically the Darfield, Firtree Link OCCS survey site.