ALCR04891: Detailed Agricultural Land Classification Survey for England and Wales

England and Wales agricultural land classification data from the Fawley survey, conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between 1989 and 1999. It includes scanned original paper maps, survey reports, and for some surveys, unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions. The data uses the grading methodology from the "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales" guidelines.

Use Cases

• Classify agricultural land capability based on detailed soil survey reports.
• Map land quality grades, including subgrades 3a and 3b, for regional planning.
• Analyze historical soil data and pit descriptions for environmental change studies.
• Integrate scanned historical maps with modern GIS systems for land use analysis.

Strengths

• Data follows the established "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales" methodology.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer granularity.
• Contains original scanned maps and reports, preserving historical survey detail.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Maps were created at varying scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000, which may affect consistency.

Provenance

Source

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), provided by Natural England.

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys with soil sampling, mapping, and report generation.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Survey data collected between 1989 and 1999; last update date is unknown.

Geography

England and Wales, specific to the Fawley survey area.