Agricultural Land Classification Survey: Ashington Site, 1989-1999

Natural England provides the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey for land off Summerhouse Lane in Ashington. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps and reports from detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. It uses the grading methodology from the 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' guidelines, with some surveys including unedited soil sample point data and pit descriptions.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land capability based on the detailed ALC grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze soil characteristics and limitations for specific sites using the available unedited sample point and soil pit description data.
• Map land quality subdivisions, such as Grade 3a and 3b, for regional agricultural planning.
• Integrate historical land classification data with modern GIS layers for longitudinal land use studies.

Strengths

• Survey data follows the established national 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' methodology.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 land into more detailed subgrades 3a and 3b.
• Original survey materials (scanned maps and reports) are provided, preserving methodological detail.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML tasks.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the 1989-1999 survey period.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Ashington, land off Summerhouse Lane, England.