National Character Area 66
Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau - Natural Capital and Key Ecosystem Services
Introduction
The Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau 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 services are summarised below. Further information on ecosystem services provided in the Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau NCA is contained in the ‘Analysis’ section of this website.
Note: The natural capital in this NCA is mapped below. This displays more recent national and publicly available data sets as used within Natural England’s 2020 Natural Capital Atlas Profiles.
The predominant ecosystem services in this NCA are also summarised below. The text contained in this section is based on the previous NCA profiles in 2014, and so is not entirely current. Further information on ecosystem services provided in the North Northumberland Coastal Plain NCA is contained in the Analysis: Ecosystem Services page of this website.
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:
- 33: Shropshire
- 35: Staffordshire
- 39: West Midlands
- 44: Worcestershire
Note that numbers and figures in the body of the text are based on the 2014 profiles, unless otherwise stated.
Provisioning services (food, fibre and water supply)
Food provision: The NCA supports food provision on a commercial scale which is important to the region. The agricultural census for 2010 (DEFRA) indicates that farms are evenly distributed between livestock (sheep and cattle) and arable. Soils are mostly classified as Grade 3 on the plateau, although significant areas of Grade 2 exist in the fertile valleys.
Water availability: The River Severn is a major source of water, augmented by boreholes in the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer providing water for agriculture, industry and public supplies to the city of Wolverhampton, and Birmingham, Shrewsbury and Gloucester outside the NCA. The River Severn, its tributaries and the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer are ‘over-abstracted’. 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)
Climate regulation: Woodland is likely to be the most significant contributor to carbon storage and sequestration in this NCA. Fourteen per cent of the NCA is covered by woodland, including significant blocks in Wyre Forest and along the Severn Valley. Other contributors include organic rich soils in the river valleys and wetland areas and there are significant tracts of heathland supporting woody shrubs.
Regulating soil erosion: Light sandy mineral soils and freely draining loamy soils cover the majority of this NCA (52 per cent). There is an enhanced risk of wind erosion where these soils occur on moderately or steeply sloping land, or where large, open arable fields are cultivated and bare soil is exposed. The loamy, clayey soils of the NCA (24 per cent) are prone to compaction and capping.
Regulating soil quality: The freely draining, lightly acid sandy soils (26 per cent) of the NCA are permeable and valuable for aquifer recharge where they overlie the Triassic Sandstone aquifer. Increased agricultural production, especially on the plateau, will adversely affect the quality of the mineral soils and will need careful management, in particular the incorporation of organic matter in cultivated soils. Well-managed livestock systems, appropriate stocking levels and keeping stock away from wetland areas can alleviate the risk of poaching and compaction of the loamy and clayey soils. In urban areas, open spaces with unsealed soils allow infiltration of rainfall.
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: There is a relatively high risk of fluvial flooding, particularly at the confluences of the Severn with the rivers Worfe and Stour, and along the Severn Valley. There is significant flood risk at the bridging towns of Bridgnorth, Stourport-on-Severn, Kidderminster and Bewdley, with the potential risk of flooding stretching into the neighbouring Severn and Avon Vales NCA.
Cultural services (inspiration, education and wellbeing)
Sense of place/inspiration: The sense of place is provided by the rolling sandstone plateau, the wooded gorges of the River Severn and the smaller steep, wooded dingles as other rivers flow through the landscape. Ironbridge, with the world’s first iron bridge, has a strong international sense of place as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and Coalbrookdale has inspired artists since the 18th century. They have been drawn by the contrast between the natural landscape of the gorge and the flames and smoke of the thriving industries. The historic inland ports and bridging towns of the Severn inspired the novelist, poet and playwright Francis Brett Young to write what became known as the Mercian Novels.
Sense of history: The NCA has one World Heritage Site, 16 Registered Parks and Gardens, 67 Scheduled Monuments and 2,609 Listed Buildings. Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge Gorge are known throughout the world as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and this is epitomised by the first iron bridge, constructed in 1779 by Abraham Darby III. The sense of history also extends to other important towns, including Stourport- on-Severn and Kidderminster which were known for their carpet looms, Stourbridge for its glass making, and the distinctive riverside towns including Bewdley and Bridgnorth.
Wolverhampton’s early importance and prosperity were founded on the wool trade and the legacy remains in the street names and in a number of folds throughout the city. In the rural landscape, there are large estates and parks, for example Leigh House, Davenport House and Dudmaston Hall. The NCA attracts visitors from around the world owing to the wealth of heritage assets of cultural and economic significance found there.
Recreation: The World Heritage Site and Wyre Forest NNR offer a host of recreational activities and there are 1,521 km of public rights of way which link settlements with the rural areas. The long-distance cycle path Route 45 passes north-south through the NCA. A number of tourist attractions are located in the NCA, for example the Severn Valley Railway (a heritage railway) and the West Midland Safari Park, located at Bewdley. The canals also provide recreational opportunities and stimulate tourism, which is economically important to the region.
Biodiversity: The NCA has 24 biological SSSI and 213 Local Sites of interest. Some 708 ha (28 per cent) of SSSI are in favourable condition with a further 1,476 ha (70 per cent) in unfavourable recovering condition. A characteristic feature of the NCA is the heathland and associated grassland, notably at Kinver and Hartlebury. Wyre Forest NNR and SSSI, located in the south of the NCA, is part of one of the largest ancient lowland oak woods in England and hosts nationally important metapopulations of many wildlife species, for example bats and the pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly. Post-industrial sites are important; the topography and soil conditions that remain following mining or excavations have been important in creating conditions favourable to natural colonisation by valuable communities of flora and fauna. Estate parkland, for example at Dudmaston, Patshull and Weston Park, is typified by its species-rich permanent grassland and often contains native and introduced specimen trees.
Geodiversity: There are eight geological SSSI and 72 Local Geological Sites within the NCA. Fast-flowing rivers have incised the rocks, creating expansive exposures, as can be seen in the Ironbridge Gorge. During the 18th century, the area around the Severn Valley and in the Black Country was rich with raw materials. Exploitation of this wealth has left a legacy of disused quarries with geological exposures which now provide opportunities for research, education and recreation. Erosion of the differing rock types has resulted in different soil profiles, thus supporting varied habitats and land uses. Many buildings in the towns and villages have been constructed using local sandstones.
