ALCR09994: Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification Survey for Middle Barton

Middle Barton (West Oxon LP Site 559) is a detailed Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey conducted between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The dataset includes scanned original paper maps and survey reports, with some surveys providing unedited soil sample point data and soil pit descriptions. It is published by the Government Digital Service and contains Natural England and Ordnance Survey data.

Use Cases

• Classifying agricultural land capability based on the official grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Mapping soil quality variations, including the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b.
• Integrating historical soil pit descriptions and point data for local land management studies.
• Analyzing land use changes by comparing detailed site surveys at scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.

Strengths

• Uses the current official Agricultural Land Classification grading methodology for England and Wales.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 land into more detailed subgrades 3a and 3b.
• Provides original scanned maps and reports for a specific site surveyed in detail.

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 (survey), Government Digital Service (publisher).

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys involving soil analysis and mapping.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

Survey data is from 1989-1999; dataset update frequency is unknown.

Geography

Middle Barton, West Oxfordshire, England.