151 - South Devon : Natural Capital and Key Ecosystem Services

Introduction

The South Devon 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 (under the constituent headings) Further information on ecosystem services provided in the South Devon 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:
 

• 6: Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• 9: Devon

Provisioning services (food, fibre and water supply)

Food provision: The area supports a mix of different farming systems reflecting fertile soils, and favourable While there has been a general decline in the number of livestock enterprises, livestock retains an important role in the landscape, with dairy and beef production dominating ahead of early-season lamb. Traditional breeds for this area include South Devon and Ruby Red cattle, which are still produced in good numbers and are a distinctive element in the landscape. The extent of arable cropping can vary in response to market prices but this is largely confined to the NCA’s Grade 2 and 3 soils. Traditional orchards, many with ancient fruit varieties such as the Plympton Pippin, remain a key landscape feature across the area but particularly in the Tamar Valley where there are cultural associations with cherry orchards. Much of the fruit is now used as a source of high value local produce. Market gardening and horticulture, notably the daffodils from the Tamar Valley, are becoming more noticeable at the local scale. Some of the high value products now have a national reputation. For example Riverford farm Organics, which started in South Devon, now distributes 45,000 vegetable boxes every week. The area is nationally significant for its fishing industry associated with the rivers, estuaries and rias, many of which support commercial shell fisheries, oyster and mussel farms, being the main reason why Brixham has the highest valued catch landed in England (£22 million in 2010). More than 50 per cent of the catch landed is shellfish. Most of the estuaries are designated bass nursery areas and several rivers have Salmon Action Plans in place to ensure the salmon can migrate from the estuaries to the spawning grounds upstream.

Water availability: The NCA overlies formations of impermeable rock and there is no significant groundwater All the rivers within the NCA have catchments that spread into adjoining NCAs and are considered diverse in nature, incorporating reservoirs and tributaries. There are large abstractions from these catchments for public water supply and industry and many smaller abstractions, for example, for agriculture, the dominant land use. Five of the catchments in the south-east of the NCA, have water available for abstraction, but the majority of catchments across the NCA are over-abstracted or have no water available for additional abstraction. 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 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 coastal flooding and erosion: The cliffs are generally formed from resistant rocks that erode at a slow and gradual rate, making the coast relatively static compared to reaches of coastline to the east. However, there are parts of the coast that are characterised by low lying lagoons, salt marshes and other less resistant coastal If relative sea level continues to rise, potentially 80 cm higher by 2080, and with more extreme storm events, challenges will be created for some coastal locations including Slapton Sands, Beesands, South Milton Sands and Challaborough. The Slapton Line is the subject of a national demonstration programme in coastal adaptation. The Slapton Line Partnership has worked with local communities to anticipate and prepare for future coastal change. For information regarding current shoreline management within this NCA, refer to the Environment Agency (Shoreline management plans).

Regulating climate change: The capacity of soils in the area to contribute to climate regulation is The soil carbon content of the largely mineral soils is only 0 to 10 per cent. However, it is known that estuarine mud and silt and fringe habitats, particularly reed beds and marsh, have high carbon content. There are 8 estuaries across this NCA and further salt marshes and reed beds along the coast. This potentially provides notable carbon storage.

Cultural services (inspiration, education and wellbeing)

Sense of place/inspiration: The area has a strong and clear sense of identity and place. Sense of place is provided by the area’s much- dissected plateau of steep wooded valleys separating intricate but smooth rounded hills with a dense network of Devon hedgebanks, defining the field pattern, and settlements linked by sunken winding lanes frequently fringed by woodland. Distinctive rias, ‘drowned river valleys’, with Special Area for Conservation-designated estuarine habitats of tidal water, saltmarsh and mudflats and oak-clad slopes falling down to the sheltered water’s edge, are an essential part of the coastal character. The coast, much of it Heritage Coast, offers spectacular cliffs and sandy beaches with distinctive clumps of Monterey pine. Collectively, these are many of the special qualities that define the South Devon AONB that covers much of this NCA while the Tamar Valley, another AONB within this NCA, has the additional heritage of extensive traditional orchards, mining and market gardening.

Sense of history: A strong sense of history is associated with the wealth of archaeological remains including prehistoric field systems, drovers’ tracks and ridgeways, burial mounds, earthworks and iron-age hillforts such as Slapton and Blackdown Historic coastal features, particularly castles, blockhouses, batteries, pillboxes and slipways, mark the area’s strong links to military defences. There are good examples of these around Plymouth Sound and the Dart Estuary. Coastal settlements map historic links to the sea through fishing and maritime trading. In addition, a small proportion of the NCA lies within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site, reflecting the area’s strong mining heritage.

Tranquillity: Tranquillity is high in certain areas, for example the tidal creeks with their steep wooded There are large areas of rural, unsettled inland landscape and coast which remain relatively undisturbed and tranquil. In contrast, the urban areas, particularly in the vicinity of Plymouth, have low levels of tranquillity, as do the main road corridors, in particular the A38 trunk road.

Recreation: An extensive network of public rights of way, which includes the South West Coast Path National Trail, several regional trails and parts of the National Cycle Network, provides a valuable recreational resource. Further recreational opportunities are offered by open access land around most headlands and along much of the coastal corridor, and access to beaches. The maritime environment and estuarine systems provide considerable opportunity for water sports and fishing. The many historic towns and villages provide other leisure and recreation opportunities including access to local food, culture and heritage. The area has become a market leader in green tourism. The award- winning South Hams Green Tourism Business Scheme has 69 accredited businesses in the AONB improving their own environmental performance.

Geodiversity: The geodiversity of South Devon is considered to be of sufficient international importance for the Torquay to Brixham area to be recognised by UNESCO as the ‘English Riviera Global Geopark’.