The NI Land classification was developed using the Merlewood method of multivariate land classification. This involved selecting a sample of 700 1km grid squares, representing 5% of NI land area. For each of these squares, attributes on climate, elevation & topography, vegetation, hydrology, settlement, geology, and soils were recorded from maps. Using TWINSPAN, this data was used to produce a land classification hierarchy, yielding 23 land classes for N.Ireland. This was then used to classify all remaining 1km grid squares in N. Ireland. In total, 14,377 1km grid squares were assigned to one of the 23 land classes.
For detailed information on the methodology and descriptions of each of the land classes see, Land Classification report edited.pdf
A brief description of the Land Classification Groups identified in the dataset is available in the NI Land Classification - Land Classes Metadata, published on the NI Land Classification Reports webpage.
