ALCL13893: Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification Survey Maps and Reports

ALCL13893 is a detailed site survey dataset from the UK Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. It contains scanned original paper maps and survey reports for individual agricultural land parcels graded between 1989 and 1999. The data includes the subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b, and for some surveys, unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Use Cases

• Map agricultural land quality based on the detailed grading methodology described in the survey reports.
• Analyze soil characteristics and land suitability for specific crops based on the available soil pit descriptions.
• Compare land classification at varying scales (from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000) for regional planning studies.
• Assess changes in land use potential by integrating historical survey data with contemporary datasets.

Strengths

• Data uses the current grading methodology as described in the official 'Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales' publication.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 land into subgrades 3a and 3b, providing finer granularity.
• Original survey maps and reports are available, providing primary source material.

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

UK Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, Natural England, Ordnance Survey.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1989 to 1999

Geography

Individual sites in England and Wales, likely focused on the Pickering, Ruffa Lane area.