107 - Cotswolds : Natural Capital and Key Ecosystem Services

Introduction

The Cotswolds NCA provides a wide range of benefits to society. Each is derived from the attributes and processes (both natural and cultural features) within the area. These benefits are known collectively as ‘ecosystem services’. The predominant service are summarised below. Further information on ecosystem services provided in the Cotswolds NCA is contained in the ‘Analysis’ section of this website.

The complexity of interactions across these ecosystem services and across adjoining character areas means that the summary provided here requires further refinement and analysis of evidence at a more local scale.

The evidence, sources and analysis for these summaries can be found in the ‘Analysis’ section of this website. Where there are currently gaps in data, these will be addressed through further evidence gathering as part of this work.

What is Natural Capital?

Natural capital means “the elements of nature that directly or indirectly produce value to people, including ecosystems, species, freshwater, land, minerals, the air and oceans, as well as natural processes and functions” (Natural Capital Committee, 2017).

It is helpful to consider natural capital in the form of a logic chain that represents the links between ecosystem assets, services, benefits and value to people. The figure below displays that logic chain. The quantity and quality of ecosystem assets (woodland, bogs, etc) support different types of ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration or water filtration. These ecosystem services then provide different benefits to society, providing value for people. The figure also shows how management interventions, as well as pressures and drivers of change, influence this chain. Other capital inputs are also often needed for people to obtain the benefits from ecosystem services (a simple example is the processing of trees to produce wood products).

As an example, an area of woodland (ecosystem asset) may reduce air pollution created by traffic on a nearby road. This woodland is therefore improving air quality (ecosystem service) in the local area which results in cleaner air and improved health in the adjacent residential street (benefit). This cleaner air has a value because we know it impacts the health and wellbeing of communities.

Sometimes for ease of understanding, economic framing is used to give these benefits a monetary value. The figure below shows how natural capital assets support the provision of ecosystem services, benefits and value. The roots of the tree show how aspects of asset quality are critical to the provision of ecosystem services. The roots also show that geodiversity underpins the ecosystem assets and therefore the ecosystem services and benefits they can provide. It is important to remember that this diagram, and natural capital frameworks more generally, are a simplification of how nature works in practice.

Natural Capital within this NCA

In 2018, Natural England published ‘Natural Capital Indicators: for defining and measuring change in natural capital’ (Lusardi et al., 2018). This report identified key properties of the natural environment vital for the long-term sustainability of benefits, which can act as indicators of change.

These indicators are designed to inform our understanding of the state of our natural assets. The indicators highlight the importance of our natural assets for delivering which ecosystem service and the benefits they provide for society. The indicators and datasets identified in Natural England’s Natural Capital Indicators Project provide the foundation for the Natural Capital Atlas Profiles.

Natural England’s Natural Capital Atlas Profiles provide an “off the shelf” natural capital evidence base for each county or city region. They have a wide variety of uses with more information in the How to Start Using Your Natural Capital Atlas.

The Natural Capital indicators are presented on the map below by broad asset theme, displaying the natural capital within the NCA.

It is noted that not all indicators listed within the Natural Capital Atlas Profiles are included within the map as data is not yet available to measure them. Refer to the “Indicator Gaps and Limitations” of the Natural Capital Atlas Profiles for further information.

Natural Capital Atlas Profiles

The following Natural Capital Atlas Profiles cover counties within this NCA:
 

• 3: Buckinghamshire
• 14: Gloucestershire
• 29: Northamptonshire
• 31: Oxfordshire
• 34: Somerset
• 38: Warwickshire
• 40: West of England
• 43: Wiltshire
• 44: Worcestershire

Provisioning services (food, fibre and water supply)

Food provision: The principal agricultural production for this NCA remains arable cropping and sheep rearing, although dairy, beef and poultry all form a part of the mix, alongside horticulture in the north of the area. Mixed farming is predominant, although an increase in farm size and a move towards less mixed farming and more arable cultivation are growing trends.

Water availability: This NCA provides a key catchment for good quality drinking water for populations within this area and large conurbations in neighbouring NCAs. The large limestone aquifer which underlies the area is of strategic importance for this water supply. Hotter, drier summers affect flow in limestone rivers and many of the rivers and parts of the aquifer are classified as having no more water available for abstraction. Rivers, particularly those which flow south and eastwards are strategically important as the headwaters of the Thames. It is essential to manage abstraction to ensure that water remains available further downstream. For information regarding the current state of water availability within this NCA, refer to the Environment Agency (Abstraction Licensing Strategy).

Regulating services (water purification, air quality maintenance and climate regulation)

Regulating soil erosion: The main soils of this area are free draining, base rich and relatively shallow. When these are protected by semi-natural habitats such as limestone grassland, or managed through good soil husbandry, erosion rates can be low. However, when exposed or when vegetation cover is lost, they can be highly prone to erosion, compaction and wind blow, which can have an adverse effect on many other services.

Regulating soil quality: Historically, soils in this area provided good conditions for sheep grazing on the limestone grassland. More recently there has been an increase in arable cropping, taking advantage of the good quality soil. This can leave soils prone to thinning, compaction and nutrient run-off, especially from the application of artificial fertiliser which can, over time, reduce the value of this service. Sedimentation can damage salmonid fisheries and increase the maintenance of drainage features.

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

Regulating water flow: In general this is not an area of high flood risk, although there are areas susceptible to localised flooding. Limestone forms the parent material within the majority of catchments, allowing precipitation to infiltrate to the groundwater, from where it can be released at a slower rate back into rivers, helping to mitigate flood risk but sometimes leading to low flows. Areas to the north-east around Banbury and to the north of Bath are susceptible to localised flooding. During periods of heavy rain – such as in July 2007 – rivers which supply the headwaters of the Thames can cause flooding of communities along the valleys and further downstream in the Thames catchment. Water company groundwater abstractions for drinking water supply can affect spring flows and reduce river levels in this area. To mitigate this, water abstracted from aquifers deep underground is discharged into the rivers to increase flow.

Cultural services (inspiration, education and wellbeing)

Sense of place/inspiration: Sense of place is especially strong in the Cotswolds NCA with a unifying harmony provided by the use of local limestone in buildings and drystone walls. It is an area of biodiversity value in the form of beech woods and limestone grassland. The dramatic scarp slope fretted by valleys provides panoramic views and a sense of inspiration and openness. The rural nature of the Cotswolds has strong associations with the Arts and Crafts Movement and the area is often thought of as the quintessential English landscape, drawing and inspiring many thousands of visitors each year.

Sense of history: The area has a rich history with clearly visible evidence of human occupation, from Neolithic long barrows, bronze-age henges, iron-age hill forts, Roman towns (Bath and Cirencester), villas and roads, to impressive 17th- and 18th-century estates and parklands (for example, Blenheim Palace), and a legacy of industrial archaeology, with wool mills (such as at Chipping Norton) and canals. Field and road patterns and quarrying all sit alongside this visible record to reveal a long history of land use and settlement.

Tranquillity: The area has long been associated with a sense of rural peace, particularly in the undeveloped valleys, along the scarp and within woodlands and parklands. The expansion of some urban centres and the road network are eroding this tranquillity in places, reducing the level of this service.

Recreation: There is an extensive network of public rights of way especially for those on foot, combined with open access, with the start of the 184-mile Thames Path National Trail, the majority of the Cotswold Way National Trail and parts of the National Cycle Network. The network is less comprehensive for other users such as horse riders. There are many popular visitor destinations, especially some of the villages such as Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold and Roman remains around Cirencester, while the City of Bath is a world-renowned destination. There are two National Nature Reserves (NNRs) within the NCA: Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods NNR and Wychwood NNR – both important for nature conservation. The former is also important as an educational and recreational resource.

Biodiversity: The Cotswolds has a rich biodiversity and is particularly important for its internationally renowned beech wood hangers, and nationally important limestone grassland and associated species such as the Duke of Burgundy butterfly, the large blue butterfly and many farmland birds. It is also important for species such as greater horseshoe bat, holding 15 per cent of the UK’s population. The network of habitats, in particular beech hangers and limestone grassland, along the scarp edge are a good foundation for an ecological network running north to south. The rivers that run west to east, including the Evenlode, Windrush and Coln, and their associated habitats also serve as an important ecological network. Both networks could be enhanced to increase their biological value and to aid biodiversity in adapting to changes in climate.

Geodiversity: Geology is a unifying theme across the NCA, providing much of its character and interest. The use of local stone in buildings and stone walls gives a visual harmony to the built environment. Quarrying remains important, particularly for the supply of stone for local use to maintain the character of new developments and for the repair and maintenance of older, notable buildings and structures. The wealth of opportunity for the study of geology and geomorphology, and in particular stratigraphy, fossils and the history of geology, also makes this an important educational service. And the resultant soils significantly influence agriculture, land use and water resources.