Agricultural Land Classification: Detailed Site Surveys for England and Wales, 1989-1999

England and Wales site surveys conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1989 and 1999. The dataset contains scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual sites, detailing Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) grades, including subdivisions of Grade 3. It is provided by the Government Digital Service and sourced from Natural England and Ordnance Survey.

Use Cases

• Classify historical agricultural land quality based on detailed survey reports and grading methodology.
• Analyze soil characteristics and land suitability based on unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.
• Map land grade subdivisions, such as Grade 3a and 3b, using scanned original paper maps at scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Strengths

• Surveys use the current grading methodology as described in the official 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' document.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b, providing finer detail for analysis.
• Original paper maps are scanned and available at varying scales, typically 1:10,000.

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; Natural England; Ordnance Survey.

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys with soil data collection and mapping.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

null

Geography

England and Wales (specific site: Faringdon, Wicklesham Quarry)