45 - Northern Lincolnshire Edge with Coversands : Analysis: Ecosystem Services

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Good quality well-drained and workable soils
• Infrastructure of large farmsteads
• Mostly arable holdings, with limited mixed farming, specialist poultry and pigs

State – The plateau provides very good conditions for arable cropping, with light, well drained brashy loams. 40 per cent of the area is categorised as Grade 2 agricultural land, and much of the remainder (43 per cent) is Grade 3. While the Coversands give rise to infertile sandy soils, in places poor drainage also reduces the quality of the soils for agriculture.

There is more mixed farming on the lower land at the foot of the Edge, with some permanent pastures and managed leys.

Farms are generally large (over 100 ha).

The relatively low rainfall combined with porous bedrock means that there are few surface streams on the plateau.

Main beneficiary – National

Analysis – This is a productive area for farming, including cereals, oilseeds, root crops, pigs and poultry, contributing to the employment economy. With generally large scale farming, the potential for increasing productivity may be limited, taking into consideration the need to safeguard water quality, water supplies and biodiversity, to avoid soil erosion, and to mediate climate change.

Water supplies for crop irrigation, especially potatoes, may become more of a limiting factor with climate change. In recent years a number of large reservoirs have been constructed to provide farms with a supply of water for irrigation.

Soil erosion can be exacerbated by continuous cultivation, especially when that includes periods when the soil is left bare.

Climate change may result in an increase in summer temperatures and longer growing seasons, thus making it possible to introduce new crops and/or to crop twice in a season. It may also be appropriate to introduce crops that are more drought resistant.

Opportunities – Work with the farming community to identify possibilities for improved productivity while ensuring soils are protected from erosion and demands for water are not increased.

Introduce crops that are more drought resistant.

Encourage cultivation practices that increase the organic content of soils and reduce sediment run-off, thus improving infiltration, reducing soil erosion and preventing sedimentation of watercourses, while also maintaining levels of production.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Woodlands and plantations

State – Woodland cover is relatively low, at 6.5 per cent. Of this less than 2 per cent is conifer or mixed woodland. There are a limited number of plantations managed for timber production, mostly around Scunthorpe.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – With fairly low woodland cover here, the timber industry is limited, but the existing woodlands play an important part in strengthening the landscape, providing for biodiversity and carbon capture, and reducing wind erosion of soils.

There may be opportunities to increase the proportion of broadleaved species within conifer plantations, to improve their contribution both to the landscape and biodiversity.

In some locations, notably on the Coversands where conifer plantations are adjacent to lowland heathland and acid grassland, it would be more appropriate to restore to open habitats wherever possible, with compensation planting sites found elsewhere.

Opportunities – Ensure that existing woodlands are brought under management where possible to increase the production of timber, where appropriate.

Seek opportunities to remove conifer plantations from those areas where heathland or dry acid grassland could be restored, and find suitable compensation planting sites elsewhere.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Timber provision
• Biomass energy
• Climate regulation
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Aquifer
• Rivers
• Farm reservoirs

State – The Limestone Edge forms a watershed between the major river basins of the Trent to the west and Anglian rivers to the east.

The Lincolnshire Limestone aquifer is regionally important and large demands are placed upon it to meet domestic, industry and agricultural water supplies, as well as supporting base flows to rivers and supporting local surface water features.

The Lincolnshire Limestone can be up to 40 m thick, and groundwater movement within the aquifer is generally west to east. In the west of the area the limestone outcrops at the ground surface allowing rainfall to recharge the aquifer. The limestone becomes confined as it is overlain by younger deposits to the east. Although abstraction takes place mainly from the confined region, the aquifer becomes too deep and the quality is considered to be too poor to exploit more than a few kilometres east of the outcrop area.

Resources are currently fully committed to existing users, so there is no further water available. However water is still available in Winterton Beck, in the north (The Grimsby, Ancholme and Louth Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy, Environment Agency, 2013).

The River Basin Management Plan states that groundwater quantity is ‘good’ but south of Scunthorpe it has high vulnerability.

The resource availability status of the River Eau has not been assessed due to the tidal nature of the river (The Lower Trent and Erewash Catchment Abstraction Management Strategy, Environment Agency, March 2008).

The Ancholme water bodies are supported by water from the Trent Witham Ancholme Surface Water Transfer Scheme. This scheme comprises two river transfers, from the River Trent to the River Witham, and from the River Witham into the Toft Newton reservoir from which it flows into the River Ancholme. The TWA transfer scheme is very significant in helping to meet the needs of a number of large abstractions.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – The current approach is to only issue new licences to abstract water from the River Ancholme or those tributaries supported by the water transfer scheme that include conditions to prevent abstraction at any time when the flow in the River Ancholme is insufficient to meet the needs of the river and prior abstraction rights.

Climate change may bring drier summers, which would exacerbate the low summer flows of the rivers in this area. This would impact on water quality and freshwater habitats, as well as reducing the availability of water. One of the objectives for fresh water habitat nature conservation set out in the Natural Area Profile is to ‘avoid damage to wetland and riverine habitats by over- abstraction of water’.

Farmers are already addressing this by constructing large rectilinear reservoirs for irrigation supplies.

There is also potential for managing soils to ensure good structural condition, which improves infiltration rates; this can be achieved through, for instance, expanding the area of permanent grass, increasing the organic content of soils, and avoiding compaction.

Opportunities – Work with land managers to incorporate measures into cultivation to improve the structural condition of the soils and thus increase the infiltration of rainfall, for example by increasing the area of permanent grassland, and introducing green manures and fallow periods, to increase the organic content of soils.

Time cultivation activities to avoid compaction of the more clayey soils.

Ensure that the construction of reservoirs on farms to supply water for irrigation are designed to enhance biodiversity and to make a positive contribution to the landscape, by for example providing shallow sloping edges so that vegetation can establish.

Ensure that developments do not proceed unless water resources are available, to avoid putting further demands on already limited water supplies.

Ensure that all new developments include appropriate sustainable drainage systems, in particular introducing porous surfaces where possible, to maintain infiltration of rainwater into the aquifer.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Water availability
• Food provision
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil quality
• Regulating soil erosion
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Biodiversity

No information available.

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Existing woodlands

State – The NCA has a generally medium potential yield for short rotation coppice although there are areas of high potential yield to the east of Scunthorpe and to the north of Lincoln. There is also an area of low potential to the north-east of Scunthorpe.

The potential miscanthus yield is generally high in the north of the NCA around Broughton and in the west of the NCA around Gainsborough, but medium to low elsewhere. For information on the potential landscape impacts of biomass plantings within the NCA, refer to the tables on the Natural England website.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – The existing woodland cover of 6.5 per cent of the NCA includes some coniferous plantations for commercial production on the Coversands. This offers some potential for the provision of biomass, both through bringing unmanaged woodland under management and as a by-product of commercial timber production. Planting of biomass crops on land that could potentially be restored to heathland must be avoided.

Elsewhere miscanthus and short rotation coppice could be accommodated within the cropped landscape of the plateau, or on the lower-lying land to either side of the Edge. These crops would not be suitable on the steep slopes of the Edge itself, nor on sites that contain archaeological ground features. Periods of bare soil during the cultivation of the crops would need to be kept to the minimum to avoid soil erosion.

Opportunities – Encourage the management of existing woodlands to provide wood fuel for local use.

Consider planting biomass crops such as miscanthus and short rotation coppice within arable farmland, but reducing the risk of soil erosion by avoiding sloping land, and avoiding archaeological ground features.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Biomass energy
• Timber provision

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Soils with high carbon content
• Woodlands
• Wetlands

State – The mineral soils over most of the NCA have a low carbon content (0-5 per cent) although there are a few scattered pockets in the north and the west of the NCA with a high carbon content (5-50 per cent) likely to be associated with the organic soils of drained wetlands.

These also include areas of freely draining very acid and loamy soils, naturally wet very acid sandy and loamy soils and loamy and clayey soils of coastal flats with naturally high groundwater which all have peaty or organic rich topsoils which are a store of carbon and should be conserved reflecting their important role in carbon sequestration.

Woodlands will also offer a carbon store both in their organic soils and in the growing plant material. However, woodland cover here is relatively low (6.5 per cent) and fragmented.

Wetland habitats are limited to a few wet woodlands and small areas of grazing marsh.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – The carbon content of the soils could be improved by reducing the frequency and area of cultivation, and through introducing green manure crops and fallow into rotations, and direct drilling.

The establishment of permanent, uncultivated strips alongside watercourses and expansion of wetland would improve carbon capture while also capturing sediment and nutrient run- off. These strips and other semi-natural habitats would both capture carbon and result in a reduction in the area subject to applications of artificial fertilisers.

Arable reversion to permanent grassland on sites with evident ground features of archaeological interest would also contribute.

While nitrogen fertilisers drive high yields, their production and the soil processes of nitrification and denitrification are significant sources of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas (UK Plant Science: Current status and future challenges, UK Plant Science Foundation/Society of Biology). Applications of artificial fertilisers should match nutrient needs as far as possible.

Woodlands could be brought into sound management so that growth rates are optimised, and natural regeneration encouraged where possible.

Existing areas of wet woodland and grazing marsh will need to be protected. Extending and buffering these areas will both protect their hydrology and biodiversity, as well as increasing their role in carbon capture. An increase in the area of woodland would also contribute to carbon capture.

Opportunities – Encourage the introduction of green manure crops, and of fallow within rotations.

Establish uncultivated strips of grassland or scrub and woodland alongside watercourses.

Match applications of fertilisers to nutrient needs as far as possible.

Seek opportunities to revert arable land to permanent grassland to protect archaeological ground features.

Bring woodlands into active management, encouraging natural regeneration where possible.

Protect and extend areas of wet woodland, wet pasture and grazing marsh.

Seek opportunities to establish new woodlands, especially on the scarp slopes.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Climate regulation
• Regulating soil erosion
• Regulating water quality
• Biomass energy
• Timber provision
• Sense of history

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• The hard limestone outcrops at the Humber Estuary at Whitton

State – A combination of high river flows with high tides can result in an increase in water levels in the estuary.

A major realignment scheme has been undertaken to provide extra flood storage on the estuary at Alkborough, and a further scheme is planned for Flixborough Grange, both sites just below the Edge on the River Trent, to the north west of this NCA.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – While coastal erosion and flooding are major issues along the Humber Estuary, they are unlikely to be major issues within this NCA, as it includes only the stretch where the relatively hard limestone edge drops down below the Humber.

Along the coastline on the north boundary most of the existing defences along the estuary are unlikely to need major repairs for 20 to 40 years (The Humber Flood Risk Management Strategy Summary Document, Environment Agency, March 2007).

However, there is uncertainty about the rate at which sea levels will rise and the defences deteriorate, so there is a risk of flooding of the low-lying land at Whitton Ness, just to the north- east of this NCA, in the future. This would impact on farmland between Whitton, West Halton and Winteringham.

This is best addressed through the management of the Humber Estuary; there is only limited potential to undertake measures to address this within this NCA, for instance by improving infiltration rates so that the impact of run-off is reduced.

Opportunities – Improve infiltration of rainfall through increasing areas of permanent grassland, woodland, and other semi- natural habitats, thus reducing rapid run-off which contributes to high water levels in the Humber Estuary.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating coastal erosion and flooding

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rivers
• Aquifer
• Semi-natural habitats

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 – All farms within the NVZ are required to comply with regulations around the application of organic and manufactured manures, including rates of application and provision of adequate storage of livestock manures. These regulations are to ensure that water quality is not affected by the application of nutrients.

As this NCA forms the watershed between major catchments, it is a potential source of diffuse pollution, rather than a recipient.

Measures to address water quality include matching nutrient inputs to the needs of the crops; establishing strips of unfertilised permanent grassland alongside watercourses to help to trap sediments, nutrients and chemicals before they can enter the water system; careful planning of times to spread organic and artificial fertilisers to ensure optimum take-up by crops.

Summer droughts and more frequent and more intense rainfall events may arise from climate change. These are likely to have adverse impacts on the quality of watercourses, for instance by reducing the oxygen content of the water, or by increasing the amount of sediment entering streams and rivers.

A move towards more mixed farming, resulting in an increase in the area of grassland, could have beneficial effects, although compliance with storing and spreading livestock manure would be necessary. The introduction of more grazing stock could be linked to the conservation grazing needed to manage the areas of heathland and acid grassland on the Coversands, and calcareous grassland on the limestone.

Opportunities – Establish strips of permanent grassland, scrub or woodland alongside all watercourses, to reduce the amount of sediments, nutrients and other chemicals entering them.

Manage the applications of manure and artificial fertilisers to maximise uptake and reduce run-off, and match inputs to needs as far as possible.

Introduce cultivation practices that reduce the extent of bare soil at any time, such as direct drilling, to reduce soil erosion.

Encourage mixed farming, to increase the carbon content of soils, but managing the storage and application of manure.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating water quality
• Food provision
• Climate regulation
• Regulating soil erosion
• Biodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Rivers
• Semi-natural habitats

State – The two main catchments in the NCA are the Grimsby and Ancholme catchment and the River Trent Catchment. The Grimsby and Ancholme Catchment Flood Management Plan states that river flooding along the river Ancholme tributaries in this area is infrequent and the consequences of flooding are low.

However rapid run-off during severe storms can cause flooding issues in some villages, for example, both Redbourne and Waddingham are at some risk of flooding, the latter experiencing river and surface and groundwater flooding in 2007 (Grimsby and Ancholme Catchment Flood Management Plan, Environment Agency, 2009). In the longer term a flood risk study is to be carried out to investigate alternative flood risk management actions to improve the situation in these villages (Ibid).

The Trent Catchment Flood Management Plan identifies a high risk of flooding, exacerbated by rising sea levels, along the Trent itself (Trent Catchment Flood Management Plan, Environment Agency), but this lies to the west of this NCA.

Within the NCA, Gainsborough is at risk of flooding from the River Trent. It already has hard flood defences (embankments) in place along the River Trent providing protection on both banks of the river (Ibid).

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – In the future the risk of flooding along the river Ancholme may increase as storms are expected to become more frequent and intense, but flood risk generally remains low.

Current Environment Agency policy is to reduce existing flood risk management actions, such as bank and channel maintenance, where they are out of proportion with the level of flood risk.

Reducing bank and channel maintenance could also allow for re-naturalising the course of the river and its tributaries thus improving the flow between the river and its flood plain (most of which is to the east of this NCA). This could open up opportunities to increase the extent of wetlands, and improve the condition of existing wetlands and aquatic habitats which could offer a more sustainable flood management system.

Sea level rise may also result in increased tide locking at South Ferriby outfall, on the Humber Estuary to the east of this NCA. When the tide is high water is prevented from flowing out to the sea thus increasing the periods of high water levels in the River Ancholme. In the short term, the aim is to maintain existing flood protection here.

Sea level rises, along with more intense rainfall events, are likely to lead to more frequent overtopping of tidal River Trent defenses, potentially causing them to fail. Accordingly an appropriate flood alleviation scheme is to be drawn up for Gainsborough (The River Trent Catchment Flood Management Plan, Environment Agency, December 2010).

Measures that improve the infiltration rates of rainfall and slow down the flow of surface water will assist with reducing rapid run-off, as well as ensuring that water feeds in to the aquifer.

Opportunities – Encourage measures to improve the infiltration of rainwater, which will assist in reducing rapid run-off, such as increasing the area of grassland, woodland and other semi-natural habitats, especially within the catchments of the minor watercourses flowing east in to the Ancholme.

Seek opportunities to allow the tributaries of the river Ancholme to follow more natural courses and spill out into flood storage areas in the flood plain at times of flood flows.

Establish buffer strips alongside watercourses, of scrub, woodland or grassland, to slow the rate of run-off.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Good quality soils – 40 per cent Grade 2, 43 per cent Grade 3
• Coversands

State – There are nine main soilscapes in this NCA:

• Shallow lime-rich soils over limestone (24 per cent).
• Freely draining lime-rich loamy soils (23 per cent).
• Slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils (16 per cent).
• Freely draining slightly acid sandy soils (10 per cent).
• Freely draining slightly acid but base-rich soils (9 per cent).
• Freely draining very acid sandy and loamy soils (6 per cent).
• Naturally wet very acid sandy and loamy soils (5 per cent).
• Loamy and clayey soils of coastal flats with naturally high groundwater (3 per cent).
• Loamy soils with naturally high groundwater (2 per cent).

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – The shallow lime-rich soils over limestone and the freely draining lime-rich loamy soils are typically of shallow to moderate depth and droughty but due to their calcareous nature have a degree of natural resilience which can be enhanced by management interventions that increase organic matter content.

The freely draining slightly acid sandy soils may also have potential for increasing organic matter levels by management interventions which will also help to minimise erosion risk.

These soils are all valuable for aquifer recharge requiring the maintenance of good structural conditions to aid water infiltration and requiring the matching of nutrients to needs to prevent pollution of the underlying aquifer.

While the sandy soils have potential for improvement through measures to increase their organic matter levels, which would also minimise erosion risk, this does not apply to those infertile Coversands supporting the semi-natural habitats of heathland, dry acid grassland, scrub and oak/birch woodland.

The slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils may suffer compaction and/or capping as they are easily damaged when wet. In turn this may lead to increasingly poor water infiltration and diffuse pollution as a result of surface water run-off. However, management measures that increase organic matter levels can help reduce these problems.

Opportunities – On the shallow soils of the plateau, introduce fallow and/or green manure into rotations.

Work with land managers to modify cultivation practices to increase the organic content of soils, for instance retaining stubbles over-winter, carrying out direct drilling, ploughing in green manures and stubbles, measures which will have long term benefits for productivity.

Manage the timing of cultivations on those soils vulnerable to compaction or capping, to avoid damaging them when wet.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Regulating soil quality
• Food provision
• Water availability
• Climate regulation
• Regulating water quality
• Regulating soil erosion

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Shallow lime-rich soils
• Acid sandy soils
• Semi-natural habitats, hedgerows

State – The majority of the soils within this NCA (covering some 77 per cent) are prone to soil erosion. These include the dominant shallow lime-rich soils that are particularly prone to erosion on sloping cultivated ground or where soil is bare, for example along tracks or as a result of outdoor pig rearing.

Equally the free draining sandy soils are highly prone to erosion where the soil is bare, compacted or where organic matter levels are low after continuous arable cultivation, especially on steep slopes where there will be rapid runoff during storm events.

There is also widespread potential for wind erosion where sandy soils are cultivated or left bare, especially in spring.

The freely draining slightly acid but base-rich soils may be susceptible to capping and slaking, increasing the risk of soil erosion and requiring the careful timing of cultivations and maintenance of vegetation cover. The naturally wet very acid sandy and loamy soils are also easily eroded if heavily trafficked or after heavy rain and when dry can be subject to wind erosion.

The slowly permeable seasonally wet slightly acid but base-rich loamy and clayey soils and the loamy and clayey soils with naturally high groundwater (together covering 19 per cent of the NCA) are generally at low risk of soil erosion.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – Soil erosion is a particular issue here, and is likely to be exacerbated by climate change which will bring more frequent and more intense rainfall and storm events, and also potentially longer periods of drought.

The sandy soils of the Coversands are particularly vulnerable to wind erosion, although some bare sand and open swards are desirable within the heathlands to enhance biodiversity interest.

Erosion can be reduced by introducing a range of measures into cultivation practices to avoid exposure of bare soils, and to increase organic content.

Where soils are prone to wind erosion, then the restoration of hedgerows and planting of shelterbelts could reduce the impact of the wind. However, tree planting should not take place on dune systems, heathland or on land that could be restored to dry grassland or heathland.

Opportunities – Work with land managers and use agricultural stewardship schemes to modify cultivation practices through, for example, avoiding cultivation on slopes; introducing grass strips across slopes to capture sediment; increasing the area of permanent grassland and grass leys, especially on sloping ground; introducing fallow into crop rotations; keeping the period when soils are bare to a minimum; retaining stubble over-winter; and increasing the organic content of soils by using green manure crops in rotations.

Establish strips of permanent uncultivated grassland, scrub or woodland alongside watercourses to capture sediment run-off.

Manage the timing of cultivation to avoid the compaction of soils.

Introduce strips such as beetle banks within large exposed fields on the plateau to bind the soil and reduce wind erosion.

Ensure that soils are left bare for the minimum period possible during cultivation, to reduce wind and water erosion.

Manage existing hedgerows to allow them to fill out, and plant into gaps to create continuous hedges.

Restore and introduce hedgerows in areas most prone to wind erosion, for instance on the limestone plateau on top of the Edge.

Introduce tree planting in key locations on the plateau to reduce wind speeds, but avoiding planting on sandy soils where the restoration or creation of lowland heathland would be more appropriate.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Semi-natural habitats
• Road verges
• Hedgerows

State – There are 297 ha of dry acid grassland, 131 ha of calcareous grassland and 52 ha of lowland heathland. These semi-natural habitats will provide some nectar sources for pollinating insects, as do the hedgerows and woodlands. However, they are limited in extent and distribution.

Many of the roads have wide verges with some flowering plants.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Pollinators play a vital role in food provision, pollinating crops such as oilseed rape, field beans and potatoes, but research shows that their numbers have declined sharply. Providing suitable nectar sources at a landscape scale and the habitat structures required for other stages of their life cycles should help to address this, thus supporting pollination which is vital to many crops.

The management of hedgerows to ensure flowering, along with species-rich margins alongside, will also support pollinating insects, in turn benefitting productivity.

Opportunities – Encourage floral and structural diversity within arable systems, by establishing networks of margins alongside watercourses, tracks, hedgerows and woodlands, using wild bird seed or nectar flower mixes and managing to create species-rich grasslands.

Identify and protect through appropriate management those stretches of road verge with structural diversity and nectar flower species.

Encourage management of road verges throughout to improve their species richness and structural diversity.

Encourage the management of hedgerows to allow them to fill out and flower, and to develop a diversity of both shrubby and herbaceous species.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Pollination
• Food provision
• Climate regulation
• Biodiversity
• Sense of place/inspiration

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Semi-natural habitats
• Hedgerows

State – There are limited areas of semi-natural habitats, including broadleaved woodland, heathland and grassland. Fields are divided by hedges in most places, but these hedges are often tightly clipped and gappy.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – It is anticipated that different pathogens and pests will be able to thrive under new climatic conditions (UK Plant Science: Current status and future challenges, UK Plant Science Foundation/Society of Biology). Semi-natural habitats within productive agricultural landscapes can support species which prey on pest species, thus regulating the potential damage to crops. Hedgerows can similarly support a range of predator species.

Opportunities – Strengthen network of hedgerows so that they provide habitat for predator species throughout the farmed area.

Manage and expand semi-natural habitats so that they can support predator species.

Introduce strips such as beetle banks within large exposed fields on the plateau to aid soil erosion reduction as well as provide habitat for pest regulators.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Pest regulation
• Food provision

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Limestone cliff
• Arable landscape
• Open limestone plateau with airfields
• Long views
• Small villages of local limestone
• Lincoln and its cathedral
• Scunthorpe and its steel works

State – Sense of place is provided by the large-scale limestone plateau landscape with its west facing scarp known as the ‘Cliff’ and its gentle eastward sloping dip slope. The windblown sands of the Coversands give rise to localised areas of open heath, unusual inland sand dunes, oak/birch woodland and some conifer plantations.

The exposed landscape of the plateau is occasionally broken by shelter belts of beech and sycamore often sheltering the dispersed large farmsteads.

The industrial town of Scunthorpe dominates the northern part of the NCA, with its ironstone extraction and steel works, while Lincoln, with its prominent cathedral forming a dramatic landmark on top of the Cliff, dominates the south.

On the higher ground there are only a few settlements, linked by long, straight roads with wide verges. Along the foot of the scarp slope are villages of local honey coloured limestone and red or brown tiled roofs.

While some airfields along the Cliff top have been given over to other uses, the RAF base at Scampton is home to the Red Arrows, as well as the legendary ‘Dambusters’.

Senses of inspiration and escapism are likely to be associated with the long views afforded from the Cliff along the western edge, as well as the long distance views to Lincoln Cathedral.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – This is predominantly an arable landscape, but with many distinctive features, not least the sandy habitats on the Coversands, and the airfields along the top of the limestone cliff. These bring contrasts in the sense of openness and enclosure.

The plateau is predominantly a large scale arable landscape, which contrasts with the more mixed farming, parklands and hedges of the lower-lying land at the foot of the scarp.

Past exploitation of ironstone, sand and limestone now make significant contributions to local landscapes, with a range of habitats from open water, grassland, heathland and woodland providing opportunities for recreation and access as well as enhancing biodiversity.

Opportunities – Maintain, manage and expand the mosaics of lichen and lowland heathland and oak/ birch woodland on the sandy soils of the Coversands.

Strengthen network of hedgerows.

Ensure that schemes for the restoration of ironstone, sand and limestone quarries include the creation of habitats such as heathland, calcareous grassland and oak/birch woodland thus strengthening these elements within the landscape and enhancing biodiversity interest.

Manage road verges to provide greater floristic interest.

Manage small woodlands and seek to increase their broadleaf content.

Ensure that opportunities to enjoy the long views out to the west from the scarp slope and to Lincoln Cathedral are made available, and not obstructed.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Sense of place/inspiration
• Food provision
• Regulating soil erosion
• Pollination
• Sense of history
• Recreation
• Biodiversity
• Geodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Prehistoric burial mounds and linear boundary features
• Roman roads and settlements
• Norman cathedral in Lincoln
• Medieval villages and town houses in Lincoln; deserted villages
• Ironstone and limestone quarries
• Parklands
• Steelworks
• Airfields

State – There is a clear line of visible archaeological evidence present along the Edge, including prehistoric burial mounds, linear boundary features and trackways. Ermine Street, a long straight Roman road, links the crossing point of the Humber with the fort and later colonia at Lincoln. Medieval influence is reflected in the city walls, town houses and churches below the prominent Norman cathedral of Lincoln, and the dispersed settlement pattern and occasional deserted villages.

Later historical influences include the development of Scunthorpe as a 19th-century centre of iron and steel production, and a number of country houses with estates in particular along the west side of the area. In the 20th century a number of airfields were established on the plateau.

Main beneficiary – National

Analysis – The ground features of prehistoric and medieval times are at risk of being lost through cultivation. Key sites should be identified and protected by the establishment of permanent grassland.

The distinctive long straight roads dating from Roman times form the basis of the current road networks.

Even the features of the 20th century, which might be perceived by some as intrusive, have their own historic interest and significance. Thus the massive structures of the steelworks at Scunthorpe are widely visible and have now become iconic, while the airfields along the top of the Cliff are a significant part of Britain’s military history, playing a key role as bomber bases. RAF Scampton is the home of 617 Dambuster Squadron and the Red Arrows. Their histories and features warrant protection and interpretation where possible.

At first sight the area might not appear to have many historic features, but they do exist and much could be done to make them accessible where appropriate and provide interpretation to improve enjoyment and understanding of the many layers of historic periods that go to make the landscape of today.

Vernacular buildings reveal evidence of past uses, structures and materials, such as the local limestone, and restoration/ conversion should respect this historic evidence, using appropriate materials and techniques.

There is scope for protecting and restoring the historic features within the estates and parklands, including veteran trees.

The city of Lincoln, with its Roman artefacts, the cathedral, the cluster of medieval town houses on the slopes below it, and other artefacts from medieval times, is a key tourist destination.

Opportunities – Seek opportunities to protect ground features by ceasing cultivation and establishing permanent grassland, and providing interpretation where possible.

Maintaining the open character of the limestone plateau including appropriate redevelopment of disused airfields, re-using their technical and domestic infrastructure and protecting features of historic interest.

Where appropriate, provide access to sites of historic interest along with interpretation to improve enjoyment and understanding of local history.

Ensure that restoration of limestone, ironstone and sand extraction sites retains features of historic interest where appropriate, along with interpretation to improve understanding of their contribution to the history of the area.

Enable visitors to appreciate the history of the RAF and skills of the Red Arrow pilots, through information and maintaining safe locations to watch them.

Maintain the settlement pattern and the historic character of villages, farmsteads and estates, including through sensitive development and the re-use of redundant buildings.

Protect stone-built vernacular architecture, using appropriate materials and techniques when restoring or converting.

Protect and restore historic features within parklands, including ancient and veteran trees, and providing opportunities for quiet recreation where appropriate.

Ensure access, recreation, tourism and education continue in the historic city of Lincoln, supporting local businesses and ensuing a sense of history is a shared with residents and tourists.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

• Sense of history
• Regulating soil quality
• Climate regulation
• Sense of place/inspiration
• Recreation
• Geodiversity

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Cliff top, long views
• Woodlands, heathlands

State – A sense of tranquillity is most likely to be associated with the broadleaved woodlands of the scarp slopes and the heathlands, grasslands, sand dunes and woodlands of the Coversands. Long views over adjacent low-lying land can also contribute.

There has been a significant decline in tranquillity in the past 50 years, with a fall in the total ‘undisturbed’ area of the NCA from 73 per cent in the 1960s to 44 per cent in 2007.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Scunthorpe and the M180 have the most significant impact upon tranquillity in the north, while tranquillity is further affected by the active airfields, the A15 that runs north-south and the urban areas of Lincoln in the south.

The noise and activity generated by the airfields can be a source of excitement, with the practice sessions of the Red Arrows in particular attracting many viewers.

Opportunities – Expand and connect semi- natural habitats, in particular heathland, broadleaved woodland and acid and calcareous grasslands, to provide more extensive opportunities to enjoy tranquillity.

Protect and manage locations on the cliff edge that provide extensive views out over the Humberhead Levels and Trent and Belvoir Vales to the west.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Public rights of way, including long distance trails
• Woodlands, heathlands
• Restored extraction sites
• Local Nature Reserves
• Airfields
• Parklands

State – Access to the countryside is possible through the rights of way, at a density of 0.5 km per km2, and including long distance footpaths such as the Viking Way, Roman roads and green lanes.

With 255 ha of open access land, and accessible woodlands, the total publically accessible land amounts to just 2 per cent of the NCA. One airfield now provides for leisure uses, and in the north, some of the restored sand and ironstone extraction sites, such as at Messingham, offer open water and semi-natural habitats for both informal quiet recreation and organised sports.

Main beneficiary – Local

Analysis – Restored extraction sites such as at Messingham, and the Normanby Hall Country Park, now provide opportunities for access and recreation in the north of the area. The Ironstone Way is a circular route around the fringes of Scunthorpe.

However, more could be done to ensure that the urban populations of Scunthorpe, Gainsborough and Lincoln have better access to the surrounding countryside, for instance by creating more links to existing paths.

Around Scunthorpe in particular, there are a number of woodlands, heathlands, restored extraction sites and open access areas that could be better connected, where appropriate, to provide more choice of routes.

Opportunities – Ensure that restoration of disused extraction sites incorporates open access and opportunities for quiet recreation where possible.

Create more links between urban populations and the surrounding countryside, finding links between existing accessible sites and semi-natural habitats, especially woodlands, for use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

Extend the Ironstone Way and develop more links and circular routes to improve access for the population of Scunthorpe.

There may be opportunities to negotiate improved access to parklands and estates where appropriate.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Small part of Humber Estuary SAC, SPA and Ramsar site
• 17 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (1 per cent of the area)
• 123 local wildlife sites
• Local Nature Reserves

State – There are nearly 2,000 ha of priority habitats within the NCA including broadleaved woodland, lowland heathland, lowland dry acid grassland and lowland calcareous grassland. Other small areas of priority habitat include purple moor grass and rush pastures, reedbeds, wet woodland, and flood plain grazing marsh.

The NCA contains a small part of one SAC, one SPA and one RAMSAR site (the Humber Estuary) and 459 ha are nationally designated as SSSI.

Main beneficiary – Regional

Analysis – There are few designated sites and they tend to be dispersed, for example, Manton and Twigmoor SSSI comprises several separate units on the Coversands near Greetwell. The mosaics of habitats, especially the heathland and dry acid grassland that have developed on the Coversands are of particular significance, being close in type to those of Breckland. The lichen content is often rich, and grasslands often contain a proportion of heather species. Historic air pollution may have affected the swards especially at Risby Warren. Nationally rare species include woodland and grayling butterfly. These habitats need to be managed to protect and enhance their biodiversity interest, through managing grazing levels and controlling scrub and bracken encroachment.

Improving the management of priority habitats, and finding ways to extend and connect them, will all assist in making them more resilient to the effects of climate change, and will to an extent allow for species movement.

Priority should be given to extending and connecting the existing areas of heathland and dry acid grassland on the sandy soils.

Opportunities for grazing, recreation and game shooting could all be incentives to encourage landowners to restore heathland.

Oak/birch woodland is significant here, and there is still scope for removing conifer plantations and restoring to heathland where possible. Some ancient woodland sites have been planted up and steps could be taken to restore them to a more natural composition of native broadleaves of a wide age range. There are some small areas of mire, wet heathland and wet woodland which need to be buffered to protect their hydrology.

Where the underlying limestone is close to the surface, and in disused limestone quarries, small areas of calcareous grassland have developed. These tend to be small and dispersed.

The restoration of sites where minerals (limestone, ironstone, and sand) have been extracted should include the establishment of priority habitats (heathland, grassland, woodland) along with open water and other freshwater habitats where groundwater levels are high.

A stronger network of grasslands and hedgerows within the farmland would benefit birds such as lapwing, skylark, corn bunting, linnet and barn owl, as well as supporting brown hare. Increasing the connectivity of habitats in this way would also enable species movements.

The wide road verges also offer opportunities to improve the biodiversity interest, thus contributing to the network of linking habitats through the farmed land.

Due to the porous nature of the limestone, there are few watercourses on the plateau, but springs and flushes occur where the water meets underlying impermeable layers. These can create significant wildlife habitats within the farmed land.

River straightening along the Ancholme and its tributaries has reduced their value for wildlife, and measures to allow them to follow more natural courses could improve the biodiversity interest by introducing more structural diversity into the river habitats, while also reducing the energy of flood flows and increasing the storage capacity of flood flows.

Opportunities – Encourage landowners and managers to restore heathland and dry acid grassland, by for example re-introducing grazing and management that will control the spread of scrub and bracken, to maintain and enhance their condition.

Seek opportunities to buffer, extend and connect semi- natural habitats, to improve their condition and resilience and enable species movement.

Ensure that existing oak/birch woodlands are under sound management that will improve their condition and enhance their biodiversity interest, including supporting natural regeneration of native broadleaved species.

Where there are existing plantations, priority should be given to the creation/ restoration of heathland or dry acid grassland where these habitats can be restored, with compensation planting sites found elsewhere.

Protect and manage areas of mire, wet heathland and wet woodland, and negotiate with landowners to bring adjacent land into management to buffer the hydrological conditions.

Identify areas of calcareous grassland, and seek to expand, buffer and connect them, thus making more resilient.

Ensure that restoration of extraction sites includes the establishment of priority habitats where possible, and manage to improve the contribution they make to biodiversity and to local landscape character.

Establish networks of permanent, unfertilised species-rich grassland alongside watercourse, roads, tracks and hedgerows throughout the farmed land, to support farmland birds and connect semi-natural habitats.

Restore and introduce hedges in the farmed land, to strengthen the networks of connecting habitats, while also reducing erosion of soils by wind.

Encourage mixed farming which will introduce more managed grasslands thus improving conditions for more farmland birds and hares.

Manage the wide road verges so that they develop structural and species diversity.

Identify, maintain and enhance existing springs and flushes on the edges of the limestone.

Identifying opportunities to allow the River Ancholme and its tributaries to follow more natural courses, introducing more structural diversity into the river habitats, thus also reducing the energy of flood flows and increasing flood storage capacity.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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

Assets/attributes: main contributors to service –

• Jurassic limestone scarp
• Underlying ironstone
• Windblown sand deposits
• 5 geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• 25 Local Geological Sites
• Fossil assemblages of the Frodingham Ironstone

State – The underlying Middle Jurassic Lincolnshire Limestone is clearly evident through the scarp slope along the west side of the NCA, with a gentle dip slope falling eastwards to the Central Lincolnshire Vale. In the north, the resistant Frodingham Ironstone within the early Jurassic Lias Group gives rise to a second scarp. These resources gave rise to the steel industry and associated industrial development around Scunthorpe, and the limestone provides an important aquifer.

Post-glacial windblown sands, the Coversands, have formed distinctive sandy landscapes of heathland in the north of the area, with inland dune formations clearly visible at Risby Warren and Messingham Heath Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Other geological SSSIs include Greetwell Hollow Quarry, with exposures of stratigraphic significance; Manton Stone Quarry, with clear exposures of the Lower Lincolnshire Limestone Formation, and Cliff Farm Pit, with coral fauna evident within a layer of Kirton Shale.

Main beneficiary – National

Analysis – The resources of limestone, ironstone and sand have been exploited over time, and disused quarries and extraction sites now provide geological exposures and geomorphological features that contribute to scientific research and understanding, as well as offering opportunities for wider education and awareness raising.

There are internationally important and well preserved examples of ammonites in some quarries in the Frodingham Ironstone, which have enabled correlations to be made with successions in Somerset, Dorset and Normandy, thus facilitating an understanding of depositional history.

The distinctive dune formations at Risby Warren need to be protected and managed to ensure that the dune systems can be studied and understood.

Many of the vernacular buildings – farmhouses, barns, village houses, walls and churches – are built with local limestone, thus making evident the links between underlying geology and historic development. In the same way, the steelworks in Scunthorpe arose from the exploitation of local resources of ironstone and limestone.

By allowing the River Ancholme and its tributaries to follow more natural courses, geomorphological processes can develop, while also reducing flood flows and enhancing biodiversity interest.

Opportunities – Ensure that new restoration schemes include the protection of features of geological interest and make them accessible where possible, providing interpretation to improve understanding of geological processes.

Maintain exposures within existing sites.

Manage the dune systems at Risby Warren so that the distinctive formations can be seen and understood, providing interpretation to raise awareness of their geomorphology.

Maintain and restore field boundaries made from limestone rubble.

Use local building materials and techniques when restoring vernacular buildings.

Find ways of allowing the River Ancholme and its tributaries to follow more natural courses, thus allowing geomorphological processes to occur.

Provide access to sites of interest, along with information about their geological and geomorphological features, and how they have contributed to the development of the landscape we see today, where possible.

Principal services offered by opportunities –

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