31 - Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary : Natural Capital and Key Ecosystem Services

Introduction

The Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary 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 Morecambe Coast and Lune Estuary NCA is contained in the ‘Analysis’ section 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:
 

• 21: Lancashire

Provisioning services (food, fibre and water supply)

Food provision: Much of the rural landscape is given over to pastoral farming, including dairy as well as beef and sheep businesses. Pastoral management as a whole accounts for over 95 per cent of agricultural land use. The health of the coastal fisheries in underpinned by the health of marine and coastal habitats. There is some marketing of products based on local identity which has the potential to support the area’s tourism, and encourage a locally sustainable green economy.

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

Climate regulation: The NCA contains extensive areas of salt marsh and significant areas of grazing marsh and peat bog, all of which have the capacity to sequester and store considerable amounts of carbon when appropriately managed.

Regulating coastal flooding and erosion: The coastal margin of large parts of the NCA is dominated by salt marshes which act as a natural regulator of coastal flooding and erosion. Although there are areas of erosion and deposition, the dynamic balance between the two processes is important in maintaining the structure of the coastal landscape. Overall there is net accretion of material within the coastal zone of Morecambe Bay. For information regarding current shoreline management within this NCA, refer to the Environment Agency (Shoreline management plans).

Cultural services (inspiration, education and wellbeing)

Sense of place/inspiration: Both the rural and built environments of the NCA give a strong sense of place. These include panoramic views across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District Fells from higher viewpoints, such as Williamson Park in Lancaster, and more intimate coastal views where the coastal expanse is punctuated by wildlife. In the built environment this is complemented by historic features connected with the NCA’s long religious and trading associations and also the frequent use of sandstone as a building material.

Sense of history: Many historic features lend a sense of history to the NCA, particularly the early churches of the coastal margin, the Lancaster Canal and also the historic buildings of Lancaster.

Tranquillity: The open, expansive landscape of the southernmost part of the NCA, especially around the outer margins of the Lune Estuary, is highly tranquil, in sharp contrast to the more urbanised northern half of the NCA and the M6 corridor. Contact with these tranquil and sensory environments has a calming and restorative effect, leading to improvements in health and wellbeing.

Recreation: The NCA has a long history of coastal recreation linked to the town of Morecambe, which developed as a 19th-century seaside resort and became the basis of the tourist economy. This has developed into a wider recreational economy, but is still focused on the coastal zone including both seaside town and tranquil coastal experiences in different parts of the NCA. In addition, a series of national and regional cycle routes cross the NCA, providing alternative recreational opportunities for visitors. These link the coastal attractions of the area with the wider local environment.

Biodiversity: The coastal margin of the NCA is particularly diverse and the entire margin is covered by national (SSSI) and international (SAC, SPA and Ramsar site) designations. These reflect not just the exceptional quality of the coastal habitats, including salt marshes, intertidal mud and sand flats, and biogenic reefs, but also the species that they support. These include internationally important numbers of wildfowl and wading birds such as oystercatcher, knot and pink-footed geese, in addition to significant populations of animals such as honeycomb worm and belted beauty moth.

Geodiversity: The geodiversity of the NCA strongly contributes to the overall sense of place through its influence over the historical development of the NCA and, particularly through the adoption of Millstone Grit as a building material, its strong influence on the built environment.