Agricultural Land Classification Survey: Cliffe Woods Site (1989-1999)

Detailed post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey data for the Cliffe Woods site in Medway, England. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps and survey reports produced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1989 and 1999, using the grading methodology from the 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' guidelines. For some surveys, unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land capability based on the detailed grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze soil characteristics and land quality for specific sites using the available unedited sample point data and soil pit descriptions.
• Integrate historical land classification data with modern geospatial layers for land use change analysis.
• Train models to predict land quality based on features derived from scanned map annotations and survey text.

Strengths

• Original survey data from a government ministry (MAFF) collected between 1989 and 1999.
• Includes the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b for more granular analysis.
• Contains multiple data types: scanned maps at scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 and detailed textual survey reports.

Limitations

• Row count, column definitions, and file formats are unknown, which limits suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Data is derived from scanned paper maps and reports, which may require digitization or OCR for computational use.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted by MAFF, with results captured in paper maps and reports that were later scanned.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Historical data from 1989-1999; last update unknown.

Geography

Cliffe Woods, south (Medway Towns LP Site 42), England