88 - Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Claylands : Analysis: Ecosystem Services

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Arable farmland
• Soils
• Traditional orchards

State – Seventy per cent of the character area is in agricultural use. Of this cereals (wheat, winter and spring barley) account for 47 per cent of the total farmed area. Other crops include oilseed rape, linseed, field beans and beet. Statistics indicate there has been a decrease in the area of land in agricultural use, farm size and area of land held.

Soils are variable but the majority are moderately fertile and classified as Grade 2 (35 per cent) and Grade 3 (48 per cent). Lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage cover 65 per cent of the NCA with more fertile and free- draining soils in the Ivel river valley and its tributaries.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – The area is important for food production which is a major industry. It is likely to be influenced by changes in the market. However, the area in agricultural use has decreased as land has been converted into other uses and lost to development.

Multiple benefits could be gained in terms of maintaining or increasing levels of food production, preserving historic character and enhancing biodiversity, however, there are pressures on soil and water resources, especially water availability.

Demand for potable water in the area is high. Extraction of water for irrigating crops adds to pressure on this limited resource. Crop type and the cultivation techniques may need to be modified in coming years to accommodate changes in climate, increase drought resilience and reduce diffuse pollution.

Opportunities – Manage the arable landscape to retain the value of food provision, employing sustainable farming practices to benefit biodiversity, water availability, and soil and water quality, for example, by reducing the use of herbicides and pesticides, buffering field margins, and retaining winter stubble.

Encourage farmers to use techniques such as establishing break crops to manage land and protect soil.

Work with local farmers, landowners and managers to promote best practice through agri-environment schemes such as the establishment of buffer strips and margins, and the appropriate management of hedgerows to promote biodiversity, address soil erosion and improve soil and water quality to continue the important service of food provision by sustainable means.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Food provision
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Biodiversity
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Climate regulation

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Lowland mixed broadleaved woodland

State – The NCA has a low proportion of woodland: 11,947 ha which is 5 per cent of the total NCA area. Of this 3,068 ha is ancient semi-natural woodland. Woodland cover is scattered and there is limited commercial plantation forestry.

Since 1990/91 the Forest of Marston Vale Community Forest has been planting new woodlands for environmental, economic and social benefit in the Marston Vale. In 1995 woodland cover in the Community Forest area was 3 per cent and in 2009/10 it had risen to 9 per cent.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Although lowland mixed broadleaved woodland cover is a small proportion of the total NCA area it is the second largest priority habitat, important for biodiversity. Woodland also provides a sense of tranquillity and landscape character.

Commercial timber provision is currently limited, but the existing woodland area and new planting provides an important role for carbon sequestration and is an important recreational resource.

There is scope for low grade woodland products in the short- to medium-term and higher-value timber production in the longer term with active woodland management. Increases in timber production need careful consideration and planning against the impacts on food production, landscape and biodiversity. Benefits include increased biodiversity and carbon sequestration, improvements in water and soil quality, reduced soil erosion and stimulating local markets in wood products and fuel.

With climate change, the species composition of woodlands may change, affecting timber production over time. New pests and diseases are a potential threat.

Opportunities – Encourage the conservation and management of existing woodlands and the replacement of introduced species with native species, as well as undertaking new woodland planting that enhances the biodiversity and recreational value of the woodlands along with benefits for water quality, soil erosion and adaptation to climate change.

Link and expand woodland areas to improve habitat connectivity where appropriate.

Promote and stimulate local markets for wood products, biomass and wood fuel to support sustainable timber production.

Explore opportunities to bring unmanaged woodland into management and promote the benefits for biodiversity, landscape and contribution to climate regulation.

Prepare and implement plans to control or limit the spread of new pests or disease – for example, ash dieback disease.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Timber provision
• Biodiversity
• Climate regulation
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil quality
• Biomass energy
• Recreation
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rivers and streams
• Aquifers Reservoirs
• Grand Union Canal
• Semi-natural habitats

State – The River Great Ouse is the main river in this NCA. Others include the rivers Tove, Til, Kym, Ouzel, Ivel, Flit and Cam which are all tributaries of the River Great Ouse. A small part of the River Nene also passes through the NCA; it supplies Rutland Water (outside of the NCA) and provides drinking water to Kettering, Northampton, Peterborough and surrounding areas.

The Great Oolite limestone aquifer underlies much of this NCA while part of the Woburn Sands aquifer underlies the NCA in the south-west (the majority of this aquifer underlies the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge NCA). There is also a small chalk aquifer in the south-east of the NCA (The Upper Ouse Bedford and Ouse Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy, Environment Agency, March 2005).

In the north of the NCA there are alluvial sand and gravel aquifers, following the course of the River Great Ouse and its tributaries. The majority of these groundwater resources have a “no water available” status.

Surface water is abstracted for a number of different purposes in this NCA including agriculture, spray irrigation, industrial use, power generation and public water supply. The rivers Tove, Til, Kym, Great Ouse, Ivel, Flit, and Ouzel have a “no water available” status (Ibid).

The River Cam flowing north through Cambridge in the north- east of the NCA has an “over licensed” status (The Cam and Ely Ouse Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy, Environment Agency).

Grafham Water near Huntingdon was constructed in the 1960s to meet the demand for water from the new town of Milton Keynes and the rapid expansion of Bedfordshire’s and Northamptonshire’s existing towns. Anglian Water Services abstract water from the Great Ouse at Offord to maintain levels.

The Grand Union Canal dissects the NCA at Milton Keynes following the line of the River Ouzel and relies on some water abstraction to maintain canal water levels.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Water availability is a significant challenge in the NCA and is restricted. Any new development or change in agricultural practice is likely to put additional pressure on water resources.

Over-abstraction for agricultural and domestic supply can have an impact on wildlife and natural features in the NCA.

Future changes in climate are likely to impact on water resources and the riparian habitats of the NCA.

Seasonal changes in water availability may lead to changes in species composition and habitat succession. Reduced river flows due to low rainfall and drought could lead to reduced water quality, with diffuse pollution becoming more of an issue.

Increased flood risk at certain times of the year may impact on biodiversity and water quality.

Meeting the large demand for potable and irrigation water in this area as well as the needs of an expanding population and the impacts of climate change are a big challenge.

Opportunities – Promote and encourage the sustainable use of local water resources by agricultural, commercial and domestic users to reduce the pressure on water resources in this NCA.

Monitor and manage water abstraction licences with new applications for groundwater abstraction considered on a case-by-case basis to reduce the pressure on the aquifers.

Incorporate and encourage the use of water efficiency measures in new developments.

Manage and encourage the extension and improved connectivity of semi-natural habitats, especially riparian habitats, to increase resilience to water shortages and to help regulate water flows by either slowing down the passage of water, adding storage capacity to the catchment, or feeding water to the aquifers.

Support measures to maintain and improve soil structure to increase permeability and water retention by the soil.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Water availability
• Regulating water flow
• Climate regulation
• Biodiversity
• Food production
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Tranquillity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Traditional orchards

State – A small number of traditional orchards supporting a range of local varieties of plum for jam making, apples and gage exist in a triangle between Cambridge, Huntingdon and Ely. Plum orchards are most notable around Bluntisham. The decline in the extent of orchards in Cambridgeshire is significant from around 5,000 ha in 1950 to approximately 1,000 ha in 2000, with many more neglected or under-managed.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Many orchards have been lost or destroyed through change in land use and development and many more are neglected. Local efforts exist to protect these habitats and prevent further losses. Many of the trees are old and support a variety of specialist species of invertebrate, lower plants and lichens.

The preservation and management of the different types of orchard fruit is important to retain the genetic diversity of food crops. Increased genetic diversity affords an increased ability to respond to climate change and disease.

Some locally grown varieties are available on a small scale at farmers- markets, roadside stalls and farm shops.

Opportunities – Protect and conserve existing orchards from inappropriate development and changes in land use, where possible.

Encourage the appropriate management of traditional orchards, bringing them back into active management to conserve their genetic diversity, biodiversity value and cultural heritage.

Plant and establish new orchards using traditional varieties of fruit trees.

Promote and encourage local markets for locally grown orchard produce.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Genetic diversity
• Biodiversity
• Pollination
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Sense of history
• Food provision

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Energy crops
• Existing woodland
• New woodland planting

State – There is a low level of biomass provision in the NCA at present, but potential for energy crops such as miscanthus or short rotation coppice (SRC) exists.

The existing low woodland cover (5 per cent) offers limited potential for the provision of biomass through bringing unmanaged woodland under management as a by-product of commercial timber production.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Opportunities exist for sensitive energy crop planting with either miscanthus or SRC. The potential for miscanthus is high. The potential for SRC is medium, with the highest areas of potential to the west of Cambridge, north-west of Huntingdon, north of Bedford and the outskirts of Milton Keynes. This has the potential to aid climate regulation and help regulate soil quality and erosion, but would need careful siting to avoid landscape and biodiversity impacts, in particular in the main river valleys and clusters of ancient woodland.

Increasing biomass by bringing woodland back under management, as a by-product of commercial timber production, and from new planting has the potential to bring biodiversity and landscape benefits, aid climate regulation and soil erosion, and stimulate local markets in wood products. New woodland planting such as that in the Marston Vale offers potential in the future.

Opportunities – Encourage, where suitable, short rotation coppice and miscanthus, ensuring this does not have an adverse impact on historical assets, biodiversity or landscape character.

Seek opportunities to develop biomass production through active woodland management, for example through coppicing, or as a by-product of commercial timber operations.

Stimulate local markets for biomass and wood fuel to support sustainable woodland management.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Biomass energy
• Climate regulation
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating soil quality
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Arable farmland
• Woodland
• Semi-natural habitats
• Soils

State – Being predominantly arable (70 per cent of the NCA area) the potential for carbon sequestration in this NCA is limited due to regular soil disturbance.

However, existing woodland, new woodland planting and other semi- natural habitats act as a carbon store.

The soils over much of the NCA have low carbon content (0 to 5 per cent) although there is a band of soils within the vicinity of the River Great Ouse and its tributaries where the carbon content is between 5 and 20 per cent. These are flood plain soils with naturally high groundwater, some of which are peaty at depth or include small areas of peaty soils.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Carbon sequestration and storage in the NCA is currently low. Arable cultivation techniques such as regular ploughing deplete stored soil carbon levels. Careful cropping techniques, the use of cover crops and measures to actively increase the organic content of soils can increase carbon sequestration.

Woodland has a role to play in the sequestration and storage of carbon, especially where woodland is under active management.

Other semi-natural habitats have the ability to store carbon and this capacity can be increased by improving habitat condition.

There is potential for increasing carbon sequestration by increasing the organic matter inputs to the soil and by reducing the frequency and area of cultivation. Keeping some soils wet, especially those with peat content will be important to help retain their carbon content.

Opportunities – Work with farmers and landowners to encourage the adoption of sustainable farming practices to support carbon storage of soils, for example by reducing ploughing and increasing soil organic matter to help carbon storage and retention.

Maintain and increase levels of carbon sequestration through sustainably managing existing woodland, actively managing it for multiple benefits including recreation as well as for climate regulation.

Support new woodland and tree planting and promote the planting of trees and hedgerows within new developments.

Enhance the hedgerow network to strengthen landscape character and improve carbon sequestration, for example by linking areas of existing woodland and reinstating hedgerow field boundaries.

Extend where possible and improve the condition of semi-natural habitats such as grassland through management to increase their capacity to sequester carbon.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Climate regulation
• Regulating soil quality
• Biodiversity
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Sense of place/inspiration

No information available.

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils
• Aquifers
• Waterbodies including reservoirs and rivers
• Semi-natural habitats including woodland, flood plain grazing marsh, reedbeds and hedgerows

State – For information regarding the current state of water quality within this NCA, refer to the Environment Agency (Draft river basin management plan maps).

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – To address issues within the NVZ, surface water quality improvements could be gained by reducing sediment, nutrient and run-off from agricultural land as well as controlling damage caused to the soil by vehicles or stock.

Water quality within the NCA is affected by:

• Diffuse agricultural pollution including nitrates and pesticides such as metaldehyde that threaten public water supplies.
• Solvents.
• Sediment which causes siltation.
• Pollution from wastewater discharges introducing nutrients and chemicals such as phosphate, ammonia and organic matter in treated sewage.
• General poor quality surface run-off in urban areas.

Slow flows and low dissolved oxygen levels, limited habitat diversity, and nutrient enrichment encouraging excessive weed and algal growth impairs quality further.
Semi-natural habitats have the potential to filter out pollutants and sediment. This ability could be greatly strengthened by linking or expanding existing fragmented habitat.
Climate change may bring drier summers leading to lower water levels and a concentration of pollutants.
Flooding can increase problems of silt and other contaminants to watercourses. Increased run-off following intense rainfall may also increase the concentration of pollutants in water supplies

Opportunities – Implement catchment-wide water management plans to ensure a co-ordinated approach to reducing the impacts of pollution on water quality.

Encourage the use of sustainable drainage schemes especially within urban areas to reduce run-off.

Promote and encourage different remedies to improve water quality (for example increasing on-farm water storage to reduce water abstraction levels, increasing flow rates and water levels in rivers, and continuing to make improvements to wastewater treatment works) to benefit aquatic biodiversity.

Encourage landowners and managers to increase and link areas of semi-natural habitat such as flood plain grazing marsh and reedbed to help slow water passage and filter out pollutants.

Work to reduce surface and groundwater pollution at a catchment scale by managing farmland under the principles established by the Catchment Sensitive Farming programme.

Encourage adoption of sustainable land management practices to improve the soil structure through increasing organic matter, reducing compaction and promoting sustainable management to minimise the loss of sediments.

Where possible expand buffer strips along watercourses to help filter out sediments and pollution, and provide benefits for landscape character and biodiversity.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Biodiversity
• Regulating soil erosion
• Climate regulation

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils
• Aquifers
• Waterbodies and river valleys
• Semi-natural habitats including woodland, flood plain grazing marsh, reedbed and hedgerows

State – The lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage that cover the majority of the NCA can increase the likelihood of run-off under high precipitation conditions if damaged.

Many of the rivers in this NCA are heavily modified, embanked or re- sectioned rivers, with weirs and flood defence structures to manage water flows. The numerous lakes and other waterbodies within river valleys are also used in some cases for water storage and management purposes.

Flood risk occurs along the course of the River Great Ouse, however water management and increased flood storage within the flood plain has helped to protect major settlements. Areas at risk of flooding include Kempston, Bedford, St Neots, Godmanchester, Huntingdon and St Ives.

The approach to managing flood risk set out in the Catchment Flood Management Plan (Draft Great Ouse Catchment Flood Management Plan Summary Report: Consultation Draft, Environment Agency, April 2010) is to maximise the potential of the undeveloped flood plain to retain water.

Flood risk also exists at Newport Pagnell and Milton Keynes from the River Ouzel, from the River Cam in Cambridge and from the River Flit in Shefford.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Careful soil management to reduce soil damage and increase organic matter content will help improve infiltration aiding aquifer recharge, reduce run-off and slow flows.

The River Great Ouse catchment is known for its quick response during periods of heavy rainfall, therefore measures taken in this NCA will help to regulate and manage flows further downstream in other NCAs and sites of nature conservation importance that are known to have issues with water quality and flow such as the Nene and Ouse Washes.

River and flood plain modifications including development have decreased habitat diversity and created obstacles to fish passage. Reinstating the natural functionality of the flood plain, where possible, could assist in water flow management with added benefits for biodiversity.

Restoring river channels and creating and managing riparian habitats as well as engineered schemes that store floodwater can provide long-term benefits for the river environment and wetland habitats.

Increasing woodland cover and the networks of grassland, hedgerows and other semi-natural habitats will help with the interception of water, reducing run-off and minimising soil erosion.

Potential changes in climate with more rainfall in winter and more intense rainfall in summer could exacerbate flood risk. High development pressures in the NCA will impact on flood risk and necessitate additional management.

Opportunities – Work with landowners and managers to encourage and adopt good land, soil and water management to reduce poaching and soil compaction.

Manage vegetation within the catchment to help to bind the soil, reducing the risk of erosion and slowing the passage of water.

Seek opportunities to extend and link areas of woodland, hedgerow, grassland and other semi-natural habitats to aid infiltration and slow water flow, and provide benefits for biodiversity.

Seek opportunities to increase the water storage capacity of the flood plains, conserving and extending riparian habitats to retain water, and bring benefit to the river environment.

Promote green infrastructure to help mitigate the impact of flooding. Encourage the use of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) such as permeable surfacing within urban areas to help reduce run-off.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating water flow
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Biodiversity
• Climate regulation
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils
• Semi-natural habitats

State – There are eight main soilscape types in this NCA:

• Lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage covering 65 per cent of the NCA.
• Slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid, but base-rich loamy and clayey soils (7 per cent).
• Freely draining lime-rich loamy soils (6 per cent).
• Slightly acid loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage (6 per cent).
• Freely draining slightly acid loamy soils (5 per cent).
• Loamy and clayey flood plain soils with naturally high groundwater (4 per cent).
• Freely draining slightly acid, but base-rich soils (2 per cent).
• Shallow lime-rich soils over chalk (2 per cent).

The lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage (65 per cent) are calcareous soils with some natural resilience and enhanced workability. These soils are at risk from topsoil compaction and poaching, requiring careful management to maintain good soil structure and avoid increasing vulnerability to run-off under high precipitation conditions.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Management that helps to maintain good soil structure, such as increasing soil organic matter levels and the use of minimum tillage will help improve soil quality, as well as reduce the potential for soil erosion in freely- draining soils.

Maintaining good structural conditions will aid water infiltration, aquifer recharge, reduce run-off and prevent pollution of groundwater. Keeping some soils wet is important to the retention of their carbon content especially those with high peat content in the river valleys. There is the potential to increase organic matter content by management interventions.

Much of the NCA is in agricultural use where maintaining and improving the soil quality will safeguard and retain food production in the long-term and increase the resilience of soils to climatic change and extreme weather events. Retaining and increasing the amount of semi-natural habitat and tree cover in this NCA would help maintain and improve soil condition.

Opportunities – Promote management techniques that prevent compaction and improve water infiltration such as the careful use of machinery.

Add organic matter where appropriate to improve the soil structure.

Promote the minimal use of tillage operations where possible.

Encourage the use of crops which break up the soil such as rape or beans and winter cover to increase organic matter.

Increase where possible the areas under woodland or permanent vegetation to stabilise the soil and increase quality with organic matter and soil fauna.

Manage localised compaction and erosion in areas of recreational pressure, for example at popular woodland sites and along green lanes.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Regulating soil erosion
• Food provision
• Biodiversity
• Climate regulation
• Recreation
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils
• Woodland
• Semi-natural habitats (grassland, hedgerow network)

State – The dominant soils in the NCA, the lime-rich loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage, are easily compacted by machinery or livestock if accessed when wet, increasing the risk of soil erosion by surface water run-off. This is a characteristic shared with the slightly acid loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage (6 per cent) and the freely draining slightly acid, but base-rich soils (2 per cent).

Some lighter-textured/ shallow variants of the freely draining lime-rich loamy soils, the freely draining slightly acid loamy soils, and the shallow lime-rich soils over chalk (together covering 13 per cent of the NCA) are at risk of erosion on sloping land where cultivated or where bare soil is exposed.

The slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid, but base-rich loamy and clayey soils and the loamy and clayey flood plain soils with naturally high groundwater (which together cover 10 per cent of the NCA) are at low risk of erosion.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Soil erosion in this NCA could be exacerbated where organic matter levels are low or where soils are compacted. There is potential for wind erosion on some coarse-textured cultivated soils on sloping land.

Appropriate soil management measures such as careful timing of cultivations and maintenance of vegetation cover, especially over winter, can reduce the risk and help increase water infiltration aiding aquifer recharge.

Increasing the areas of semi-natural habitat, for example extending hedgerows, establishing grassland and planting more woodland, is likely to help to bind the soils together, aid water penetration reducing erosion, and improve soil quality by incorporating organic matter.

Opportunities – Extend where appropriate the semi- natural vegetation cover, especially on steeper slopes where the claylands meet the Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge, Chilterns and East Anglian Chalk NCAs, in particular by planting more trees and woodland, establishing grassland and buffering hedgerows. This will help to increase the organic matter content of soils, reduce run-off and erosion, benefit biodiversity, and help to regulate water quality and flow.

Encourage sustainable land management practices to reduce soil erosion, for example through types of crop rotations, use of machinery and timing of cropping.

Work with farmers and landowners to choose options within agri-environment schemes or adopt best practice that will help to regulate soil erosion by avoiding leaving surfaces exposed (for example by introducing and incorporating green cover crops, fallow rotations, overwintering stubble or reversion to permanent grassland).

Manage localised compaction and erosion in areas of concentrated recreational pressure for example within wooded areas and along green lanes in north Bedfordshire.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating water flow
• Regulating water quality
• Biodiversity
• Climate regulation
• Recreation

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Areas of semi-natural habitat such as flood plain grazing marsh, hedgerows, unimproved and semi- improved grassland.
• Traditional orchards

State – The area of flood plain grazing marsh, lowland calcareous grassland and lowland meadow in the NCA is relatively small (5,327 ha). However, many remaining examples are species-rich and designated as SSSI, such as Portholme Meadow SAC. Semi- improved and unimproved grassland also occurs along woodland rides, roadside verges and green lanes.

Hedgerows are variable, some more species-rich than others, gappy and with variable numbers of hedgerow trees.

The extent of traditional orchards has reduced; however, good examples exist around Bluntisham and Somersham in Cambridgeshire.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – The areas of semi-natural habitat found in the NCA are highly likely to support a variety of pollinators although the quality and extent of this habitat has reduced and become more fragmented.

The grassland and hedgerows, in particular, provide good corridors and habitats for pollinators. Appropriate management of these habitats to create a structurally-diverse and nectar-rich network will enable pollinating invertebrates to move through the landscape.

Maintaining a healthy population of pollinators is important for food provision in this NCA as well as biodiversity.

Managing and enhancing the provision of flower-rich grasslands/pasture, field margins and headlands through agri-environment schemes will be of great benefit to many pollinating insects including bumblebees.

Opportunities – Seek opportunities to restore, recreate and manage areas for pollinators, for example by promoting agri-environment options with pollen and nectar mixes.

Manage semi-natural habitats including hedgerows, parkland, road verges and green lanes to provide structural diversity and a variety of flowering plants that can provide breeding sites and food sources for pollinators.

Encourage the active management of traditional orchards and seek to increase their extent.

Encourage the minimum use of herbicides and pesticides to minimise impacts on pollinators.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Pollination
• Food production
• Biodiversity
• Pest regulation
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Sense of history

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Areas of semi-natural habitat such as hedgerows, unimproved and semi- improved grassland and woodland
• Traditional orchards

State – Semi-natural habitats in the NCA support a variety of predatory species such as beetles that can contribute to the regulation of populations of pest species.

Ancient semi-natural woodland and remaining areas of traditional orchard and parkland containing ancient and veteran trees support specialist deadwood invertebrates.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – The NCA provides a range of habitats for species that contribute to the regulation of pests; however, these are highly fragmented. Breaks in the ecological network and connectivity of habitats may limit the movement and effectiveness of predatory species.

Opportunities – Enhance and expand the network of semi-natural habitats particularly hedgerows, grasslands along road verges, green lanes and field margins that aid the movement of predatory species through the landscape and bring benefits for pest regulation, as well as pollination and biodiversity.

Encourage the use of field margins, beetle banks and headlands in arable land to encourage pest- regulating species.

Improve the diversity and condition of semi-natural habitats and where possible seek to expand and link them to provide a range of suitable conditions to support pest-regulating species.

Conserve and manage traditional orchards, parkland and ancient and veteran trees for the benefit of fauna.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Pest regulation
• Biodiversity
• Pollination
• Food production
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Sense of history

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Underlying clay geology and clay soils
• River valleys
• Semi-natural habitats
• Arable landscape
• Scattered woodland cover
• Rural villages
• Restored landscapes
• Second World War airfields and Cardington Hangars
• Forest of Marston Vale Community Forest
• Chilterns AONB
• Historic cities of Cambridge and Peterborough, and market towns

State – The underlying clay geology gives the NCA an open, gently undulating topography. This is dissected by broad, shallow river valleys containing a mix of semi-natural habitats including flood plain grazing marsh, wet woodland, flooded pits and lines of pollarded willows, which contribute to sense of place. Scattered woodland, especially ancient woodlands, parkland and hedgerows are important features in a predominantly arable landscape.

Small settlements are dispersed and larger settlements clustered along river valleys and major road networks.

The limestone villages of the upper River Great Ouse are particularly distinctive for their use of local materials.

The distinctive history of the industrial landscapes and associated infrastructure such as chimneys, clay pits and landfill of the Marston Vale and Peterborough areas give a strong sense of place to parts of the NCA.

Literary associations include John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, and the poet William Cowper who lived in Olney.

The Second World War airfields and Cardington Hangars provide a sense of history.

The NCA contains the Forest of Marston Vale Community Forest.

A small extent of the Chilterns AONB occurs in the south of the NCA.

Cambridge, Peterborough and some of the market towns are popular tourist destinations.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – A sense of place and inspiration is associated with the area’s ancient woodlands and remnant parklands, as well as the river valleys that provide the contrast to the surrounding arable landscape, and where locally quarried limestone has been used in village buildings along the Upper Great Ouse.

This NCA has been significantly influenced by a history of clay extraction for brick making and subsequent landfill. Sand and gravel extraction has also influenced landscape character, particularly of the river valleys.

Increasing pressure on sense of place comes from development, especially around the main urban areas of Milton Keynes, Bedford, Huntingdon, Cambridge and Peterborough, and from transport infrastructure improvements.

Promoting and maintaining landscape character where possible will help to integrate new development into the existing landscape.

Managing and promoting locally distinctive features such as the woodland, parkland, historic houses and associations with the author John Bunyan and poet William Cowper are likely to increase the sense of place and have the potential to increase the attractiveness of the area to visitors.

Conserving and managing distinctive elements of the Chilterns landscape such as its woodlands, grassland, streams and rural character will help improve a sense of place and tranquillity, particularly near to settlements and Luton in the south of the NCA.

Opportunities – Retain and enhance the contrast in landscape character between the clay plateau and river valleys, aiming to maintain and enhance the balance between urban and rural landscapes.

Protect and enhance positive landscape attributes such as woodland, hedgerows, parkland and grassland that help to define landscape character.

Resist inappropriate development and promote the use of local building stone to maintain the character of villages and historic buildings.

Offer high quality interpretation at important sites, and provide opportunities for education about the positive attributes of the area, such as the history of brick making and jam making.

Strengthen the character of the landscape by bringing neglected woodlands into appropriate management and replanting hedgerows and hedgerow trees.

Create new woodland as appropriate on urban fringes to help screen and integrate new developments, provide biodiversity and green infrastructure benefits.

Support the creation of a new Forest landscape in the Marston Vale, defining a new sense of place for the future.

Support the work of the Chilterns AONB to conserve and enhance the landscape and special qualities of the designated landscape.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Sense of place/inspiration
• Tranquillity
• Sense of history
• Biodiversity
• Recreation
• Climate regulation

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Geodiversity
• Brick-making industry
• Historic houses and parkland
• Archaeology
• Grand Union Canal
• Second World War airfields and Bletchley Park
• Historic cities of Cambridge and Peterborough, and market towns

State – The underlying clay sediments and glacial deposits are rich in fossils. Clay extraction for the brick-making industry in the Marston Vale and south of Peterborough has been extensive, leaving a series of man-made waterbodies, many now restored for biodiversity and recreational use.

The NCA has 39 registered parks and gardens covering 2,688 ha, 324 Scheduled Monuments and 8,102 Listed Buildings. Examples include Stowe House, Wrest Park, Kimbolton Park Wimpole Hall and Croxton Park.

The history of the landscape is evident in early archaeological remains from the Ivel and Great Ouse river valleys, including Roman and medieval settlements, moated manor sites, deserted villages, pockets of ridge and furrow and ruined or isolated churches such as Bushmead Priory.

The Grand Union Canal dissects the NCA in the south-west within the River Ouzel valley.

Bletchley Park and several airfields built across the clay plateau during the Second World War have an important military history.

Cambridge, Peterborough and some of the market towns are popular tourist destinations.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Maintaining, conserving and enhancing the sense of history provided by numerous assets and attributes in the NCA in particular the geodiversity, industrial and cultural heritage of the brick-making industry, archaeology, historic houses and parkland through increased interpretation and access opportunities has the potential to increase the service. This may lead to increased recreation and tourism to parts of the area which would require careful management to ensure it is sustainable and does not have a negative impact on the assets themselves. The reinforced sense of history could contribute strongly to sense of place in the landscape.

Opportunities – Promote awareness and understanding of the area’s rich geodiversity heritage and the impact it has on the landscape and human activity, for example, in brick making.

Promote the restoration and positive management of historic buildings and features, especially those that are Scheduled Monuments, or Listed Buildings and that are at risk.

Protect, manage and promote important archaeological features to increase people’s understanding.

Where possible, use agri-environment agreements to protect historic farmsteads, buildings and other features such as ridge and furrow.

Encourage the restoration and sustainable management of historic parks and gardens.

Restrict inappropriate development to help maintain landscape character and promote the use of local building materials.

Conserve and enhance the cultural heritage of the brick-making industry, the Grand Union Canal and Second World War assets by promoting and improving access, to increase awareness and understanding.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Sense of history
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Geodiversity
• Biodiversity
• Recreation

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Ancient woodlands
• Grafham Water
• River valleys
• Restored landscapes

State – Tranquillity within the NCA has declined significantly; undisturbed areas have decreased from 69 per cent in the 1960s to 38 per cent in 2007, primarily due to visual intrusion, noise and light pollution resulting from agriculture, settlement expansion and improvements in road infrastructure.

Mineral extraction and landfill activities, particularly within the Marston Vale and around Peterborough, have impacted on local tranquillity.

The most tranquil area of the NCA is in the north-west between Bedford and Huntingdon, particularly around Grafham Water. The least tranquil areas are the urban centres of Milton Keynes, Bedford Huntingdon, Cambridge and Peterborough, and along the main transport routes of the M1, M11, A14 and A1(M).

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Tranquillity is variable across the NCA and highly localised.

Feelings of tranquillity are more likely to be associated with the more remote, inaccessible and rural areas of the NCA, particularly north-west of Bedford.

Tranquillity is also associated with areas where ancient woodland is clustered, in less developed stretches of the river valleys, around Grafham Water, and in areas where post-industrial landscapes have been restored for biodiversity and recreational uses following mineral extraction, especially within river valleys, in the Marston Vale and around Peterborough.

Opportunities – Work with local planning authorities to ensure that development is well designed to minimise impacts on the landscape and reduce noise and light pollution.

Prevent inappropriate development and promote the use of design statements to retain the character of rural villages within the NCA, particularly those north-west of Bedford.

Enhance the wooded peripheries of settlements and increase tree planting around new developments to help filter out noise and light pollution.

Seek opportunities to protect more tranquil parts of the area, to reduce light and noise pollution, and seek opportunities to remove obtrusive features such as signage, lighting and poles.

Increase tranquillity by conserving, managing and extending areas of semi- natural habitat, particularly woodlands and hedgerows, to benefit wildlife and people.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Tranquillity
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Recreation
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rights-of-way network
• National Cycle Routes
• National Nature Reserves
• Country parks and nature reserves
• River valleys
• Grafham Water
• Grand Union Canal
• Restored landscapes
• Woodland
• Forest of Marston Vale Community Forest
• Chilterns AONB

State – Recreation is supported by 3,998 km of public rights of way (at a density of 1.53 km per km2). There are three NNR in the NCA and two National Cycle Routes that pass through the area (Routes 6 and 51).

Many recreational facilities are concentrated close to the main urban populations. There are numerous country parks and nature reserves available for local residents and visitors.

Large towns and cities have a good network of parks and green spaces within them and improved links to allow access to adjacent countryside via canals, river corridors and green infrastructure links.

Grafham Water (one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the country) provides opportunities for sailing and other activities. The Grand Union Canal provides opportunities for informal recreation and the river valleys offer important areas for walking, fishing and watching nature.

Restoration after mineral extraction has left numerous waterbodies available for recreation, often water-based activities such as sailing, boating and fishing, but also for bird watching.

Woodland planting, especially within the Forest of Marston Vale as part of environmental regeneration, has created a number of new sites available for recreation. Other recreational facilities include a small extent of the Chilterns AONB, golf courses, historic houses, parks and museums.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Recreation is generally low-key, close to the main urban populations and associated with the river valleys, Community Forest, existing sites, woodland and restored landscapes.

With high development pressure in the NCA it is likely that demand for leisure and recreation opportunities will increase with subsequent pressures on biodiversity, soil and water resources.

Opportunities exist to accommodate increased demand for leisure and recreation without significant effects on other ecosystem services. Managing potential conflicts between users of the area will be needed as well as practical considerations such as access issues with heavy clay soils.

There are a number of opportunities to link and provide new green infrastructure, benefitting people and wildlife through initiatives such as the Milton Keynes to Bedford Waterway, Bedford River Valley Park, Community Forest and AONB activities, green infrastructure improvements around Peterborough and Cambridge, and the restoration of mineral extraction sites.

Opportunities – Maintain, extend and promote the use of the rights-of-way network.

Promote existing sites that offer opportunities for people to enjoy the local landscape, and provide improved interpretation and educational material to increase people’s understanding of the natural environment.

Manage recreational sites to accommodate visitor pressure and demand, without conflict between different users, and without causing adverse effects on the natural environment.

Ensure that any new developments incorporate well-designed green infrastructure, to include improved access and recreation opportunities for local communities and visitors.

Support initiatives that include well- planned green infrastructure that will increase people’s access to and contact with the natural environment to benefit their health and wellbeing.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Recreation
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Sense of history
• Tranquillity
• Biodiversity
• Geodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Designated sites
• Ancient woodland
• Parkland
• Traditional orchards
• Unimproved and semi-improved grassland
• Rivers, streams, waterbodies and riparian habitats
• Fen and reedbed
• Arable farmland and associated habitats such as hedgerows, ponds, ditches and field margins

State – There are three Ramsar sites, two Special Protection Areas (SPA), five Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), three National Nature Reserves (NNR) and 61 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) wholly or partly within the area, totalling 3,394 ha. There are also 491 local sites totalling 7,939 ha (3 per cent of the NCA).

There are 11,938 ha of priority habitat within the NCA including 4,187 ha of flood plain grazing marsh, 3,939 ha of broadleaved, mixed and yew woodland, 1,653 ha of fen, 1,028 ha of lowland meadow and 894 ha of reedbed.

Other priority habitats include lowland calcareous and dry acid grassland, traditional orchards and wood pasture and parkland.

The diversity of semi-natural habitats present supports a range of species, some rare and scarce, including white admiral, purple and black hairstreak butterflies, dormouse, barbastelle bat, specialist invertebrates associated with dead and decaying wood, sulphur clover, crested cow-wheat and green- winged orchid. Also present are important populations of breeding and overwintering birds, water vole, otter, great crested newt and species of stonewort.

Arable habitats support farmland birds such as skylark and grey partridge, brown hare and pollinators.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Due to the nature of the heavy clay soils, areas less favourable for arable cultivation have retained semi-natural habitats. There is a high degree of habitat fragmentation across the NCA and the importance of the agricultural land for biodiversity may be under- represented.

Riparian and wetland habitats, hedgerows, road verges and green lanes provide valuable habitat connectivity within an intensively arable and increasingly urban landscape.

Over-browsing by wild deer is having a damaging impact on woodland biodiversity.

Some non-native invasive species such as signal crayfish and Himalayan balsam thrive in the main river catchment at the expense of native species. Dikerogammarus villosus, an invasive freshwater shrimp has been found at Grafham Water, competing with native species.

Increasing pressure from land-use change, development, infrastructure improvements and demand for water resources is having a detrimental impact on biodiversity; however, there are also opportunities to benefit biodiversity and recreation by creating new green infrastructure.

The management and extension of semi-natural habitats within the NCA will bring benefits for soil and water quality, regulating water flow, climate regulation, biodiversity and recreation.

Opportunities – Ensure areas of designated land remain in favourable condition, and improve condition where possible.

Promote awareness of, and provide advice to landowners and managers on, managing habitats of biodiversity interest.

Support the creation and expansion of native woodlands, orchards, parklands, grasslands, and hedgerows to improve habitat connectivity within the landscape and provide increased benefits for biodiversity and recreation.

Seek opportunities to increase woodland management and bring existing woodland into active management, including managing woodland and hedgerows for species such as dormouse and barbastelle bat.

Ensure that populations of wild deer are managed to reduce damage caused to the natural regeneration of trees and woodland.

Ensure that water abstraction and poor water quality does not threaten important wetland habitats.

Work with landowners and managers to encourage the appropriate management and restoration of semi- natural habitats such as rivers, streams, waterbodies, flood plain grazing marsh, lowland meadows and other riparian habitats to support biodiversity.

Control, monitor and manage invasive non-native species to prevent or reduce damage to native species populations and habitats.

Secure opportunities to encourage sustainable farming practices that enhance biodiversity, such as reducing herbicide and pesticide use, buffering field margins, and retaining winter stubble to support farmland birds and pollinators.

Manage visitor pressure and recreational use at popular and sensitive sites to accommodate demand while avoiding adverse effects on the natural environment.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Biodiversity
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating water flow
• Climate regulation
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Recreation
• Tranquillity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Underlying geology
• Soils
• Fossils
• Designated sites
• Local building materials

State – The claylands are underlain by Jurassic and Cretaceous clay sediments, occasional locally- prominent limestone and more sandy sediments. Much of this is covered by Quaternary glacial and fluvial deposits including boulder clay or till and river terrace sands and gravels.

Soils are moderately fertile, permeable, and the majority are lime-rich, loamy and clayey and in agricultural use. More fertile and free-draining soils occur in the river valleys.

Unfavourable areas have retained important and distinctive semi-natural habitats important for biodiversity.

Extensive extraction of Oxford clay for brick making in the Marston Vale and near Peterborough, and significant extraction of sand and gravel within the River Great Ouse and Ivel valleys, has left a patchwork of flooded and restored waterbodies important for biodiversity and recreation. The exposure of deposits in the river valleys and quarries provides access to a rich variety of fossils.

There are five geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and 19 Local Geological Sites.

Locally quarried limestone (to the west of the NCA and in the Yardley Whittlewood Ridge NCA) is a commonly used building material in the villages along the upper reaches of the River Great Ouse, giving them a distinctive character. Bricks made from local clay have been widely used particularly in villages built to house the brick industry’s workers, for example Stewartby, Bedfordshire.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Geodiversity has significantly influenced the landscape character of the NCA and its social and economic history including industry, development and settlement patterns.

Exposures of deposits, especially those now designated as SSSI or Local Geological Sites, are important for the geology and geological processes they reveal, with some of the fossil fauna discovered being of national importance. The extensive mineral extraction in the NCA offers many opportunities to uncover geological processes and study fossil remains.

Some clay is still extracted and sand and gravel is being quarried for use in the construction industry. The restoration of river valley sand and gravel quarries provides opportunities for wetland biodiversity as well as recreation as sites generally become flooded and quickly naturalise.

Inactive and restored sites yield valuable geological information and examples of relic and active landform features.

Opportunities – Promote awareness and understanding of the area’s rich geodiversity heritage and the impact it has on the landscape and human activity.

Promote existing geological sites as an educational tool, emphasising the integral role of geodiversity in underpinning the landscape character of the NCA.

Ensure that geodiversity sites continue to be protected, monitored and managed.

Ensure that new development is in keeping with the local character of the area by using local stone in buildings to enhance senses of place and history.

Ensure that mineral extraction sites are restored to contribute to local landscape character and opportunities are taken to enhance biodiversity, recreation and geodiversity.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Geodiversity
• Sense of history
• Biodiversity
• Recreation
• Sense of place/inspiration