“Cadastral data are defined as the geographic extent of the past, current, and future rights and interests in real property including the spatial information necessary to describe that geographic extent.  Rights and interests are the benefits or enjoyment in real property that can be conveyed, transferred, or otherwise allocated to another for economic remuneration.  Rights and interests are recorded in land record documents.  The spatial information necessary to describe rights and interests includes surveys and legal description frameworks such as the Public Land Survey System, as well as parcel-by-parcel surveys and descriptions.”   (from the FGDC Cadastral Data Content Standard)
 

location – where an area is with respect to the earth, country, state, county, PLSS, sections, subsections and/or minor divisions.  Relates to map projections and spatial coordinates.  See “corners and boundaries,” “legal descriptions,” and “parcels” below.

corners and boundaries – survey measurements and monumentation, with accompanying descriptions.

legal descriptions – for example, a Yuma, Arizona parcel, #108-34-047:
BEG 63' E OF SW COR OF N2 SW4 SW4 SEC 36 T8S R22W THE TRUE POB THE E 240' TH N 113.86' TH W 16.43' TH SW 30' TH NW 108.17' TH N 40' TH W 10' TH S 180' TH W 100' TH S 15 TO POB EXC E 16.43' & N 77' OF W 270' OF S2 SW4 SW4 EXC W 63' & EXC THAT PT LYING WITHIN 22ND LN R/W PER 837/614, (Gila and Salt River Meridian).

extent -  the spatial area encompassed, expressed in terms of boundaries, quantified in acres, hectares, square miles, etc., and typically stored as a polygon in a GIS coverage.

parcels – specific cadastral units, which are the spatial extent of the past, present, and future rights and interests in real property.

rights and interests – who, if anyone, can inhabit the land, and can develop, exploit, and use resources (water, minerals, timber, wildlife, recreation, etc.) associated with the land.  Sometimes referred to as the “bundle of rights” pertaining to resources, taxing, regulating, entry, zoning, navigation, easements, right of ways, special uses, historical artifacts, etc.

restrictions – limitations on use and occupancy on the land, generally to maintain or enhance value of lands adjacent to one another.  For example, restrictions on the redwoods park shown below would include all surface activity with the exception of some recreation, and all subsurface mineral activity.
 

transactions – the transfer of rights in land, such as the area proposed for purchase shown below.

agent - an individual, organization, or public agency that holds rights, interests, or restrictions in land, holds or files land records, or has established a land description or monument, such as the name “A. Van Haren” shown above.
 

actions – proposed or current activities taking place on the land, such as subdivision, mining, recreation, etc.

value – market worth, assessed value for taxes, history of purchase prices.

Cadastral information, therefore, applies to, influences, and is the basis for a wide range of issues and actions related to the status of land ownership and land use.  Just about everything we do as GIS Specialists inevitably relies on some kind of cadastral information which we depict as spatial data and related attributes.