Agricultural Land Classification Survey Maps and Reports, 1989-1999

Post-1988 Agricultural Land Classification survey data includes scanned original paper maps and reports for detailed site surveys conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Surveys grade land quality, including subdivisions of Grade 3, and use methodology described in the official classification guidelines. Unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions are also available for some surveys.

Use Cases

• Assess agricultural land quality for planning based on detailed survey grades.
• Analyze soil characteristics for specific sites based on available sample point data.
• Map land use potential at varying scales from 1:5,000 to 1:50,000.
• Validate land classification models using the official grading methodology.

Strengths

• Survey data uses the current grading methodology as described in official guidelines.
• Includes subdivision of Grade 3 into subgrades 3a and 3b.
• Some surveys include unedited sample point soils data and soil pit descriptions.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Detailed site surveys conducted between 1989 and 1999 by the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.

Time Range

1989-1999

Geography

England and Wales, specific to surveyed sites.