land classification

The division of land into categories according to the potential agricultural output. Soil quality is a major factor but any assessment should also take into account drainage, elevation, gradient, susceptibility to soil erosion, temperatures, and rainfall. Economic classifications may also be used, concerned with the layout of the farm, its workings, and prices and markets. Economic factors may change and so might the physical evaluation; chalklands are more extensively cropped than they were forty years ago. Land classification maps have been produced but, given their intricacy, it is difficult to make useful generalizations. Furthermore, classification of land into a particular category tends to be somewhat subjective.