ALCL10792: Detailed Agricultural Land Classification Surveys, 1989-1999

Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey data for England and Wales, collected by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The collection includes scanned original paper maps and reports for individual sites, with soil grading following the official methodology. Some surveys also contain unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Use Cases

• Classify historical agricultural land quality based on the official grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze soil characteristics and variability using the unedited sample point soils data and pit descriptions mentioned for some surveys.
• Map land capability at varying scales (from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000) for regional planning or historical comparison.
• Study the subdivision of Grade 3 agricultural land into subgrades 3a and 3b for more detailed land assessment.

Strengths

• Surveys use the current official Agricultural Land Classification grading methodology for England and Wales.
• Includes scanned original maps and reports, preserving the detail of the primary survey data.
• Some surveys contain additional unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999, with results compiled into paper maps and reports that were later scanned.

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Freshness

null

Geography

England and Wales, with a specific example site named 'Northallerton, Northallerton Road (Hambleton L.P. Site 6)'.