Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification Survey Maps and Reports

Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) survey data for individual sites in England and Wales, surveyed between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. The data includes scanned original paper maps and survey reports, with some surveys providing unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions. Maps are graded according to the methodology described in "Agricultural Land Classification of England and Wales" and include subdivisions of Grade 3.

Use Cases

• Assess agricultural land quality for planning decisions based on the detailed land classification grades.
• Analyze soil characteristics and variability based on the available unedited sample point soils data.
• Map land capability at varying scales (1:5,000 to 1:50,000) for regional studies.
• Study historical land use and soil quality changes in England and Wales between 1989 and 1999.

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 into subgrades 3a and 3b for finer granularity.
• Original scanned maps and reports provide a direct historical record.

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

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.

Time Range

1989-1999

Geography

Individual sites in England and Wales, specifically Rothwell, Moss Carr (Leeds)