ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the development of a relatively low cost computer-based land resource information system (LRIS) to a small area in Scotland. It provides a brief historical sketch of LRISs in Britain. One of the objectives of the LRIS study developed by the present authors was to examine the practicalities of working with an intensive grid sampling system over an area of ground which showed extreme physical and biotic variation. A fundamental component of any LRIS must be the ability to display information in a form that makes sense to potential users. The LRIS can provide the planner and the land user with a highly accurate, flexible assessment of land attributes. It can be used to predict areas where specific land uses can be best located in respect to physical and chemical site conditions. The LRIS can also be used to make predictions of productivity.
