Marley Knowe: Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification Survey

Marley Knowe (Northumberland M.L.P.) is a detailed Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey conducted between 1989 and 1999 by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps, survey reports, and for some surveys, unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions. It uses the grading methodology from the "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales" report.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land quality based on the detailed grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze historical soil characteristics based on the available unedited sample point and soil pit data.
• Map land capability for agriculture at varying scales (from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000) using the scanned original maps.

Strengths

• Provides detailed land grading, including the subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b.
• Includes original survey materials such as scanned maps and reports for a specific site surveyed between 1989 and 1999.
• Some surveys are supplemented with unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys, mapping, and soil sampling.

Time Range

1989-1999

Freshness

Survey data is from the period 1989-1999; last update for the digital record is unknown.

Geography

Marley Knowe, Northumberland, England, UK.