23 - Tees Lowlands : Natural Capital and Key Ecosystem Services

Introduction

The Tees Lowlands 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 Tees Lowlands 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:
 

• 26: North East and Tees Valley Combined Authorities
• 28: North Yorkshire and York

Provisioning services (food, fibre and water supply)

Food provision: Agricultural land quality within the NCA is generally high, with 78 per cent being Grade 2 or 3. Consequently, intensive arable agriculture predominates, in particular cereal crops. Agricultural production will need to adapt to the impacts of climate change through the use of innovative techniques and the selection of appropriate crops.

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

Climate regulation: Intertidal habitats in the Tees Estuary, and smaller areas of fenland and carr further inland, provide significant carbon storage. Protecting these habitats and allowing for their natural regeneration will help to mitigate the effects of climate change. Initiatives to increase the net amount of tree coverage may also play an important role.

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 high risk of flooding in urban areas located in the lower sections of the rivers Tees, Skerne and Leven. The risk could be mitigated by provision of adequate flood storage provision in river valleys and the use of sustainable drainage techniques in urban areas. Appropriate land management in upstream areas to increase infiltration and reduce run-off may also contribute to reducing flood risk.

Regulating coastal flooding and erosion: The natural movement of sediment from north-west to south-east within this NCA is influenced by the breakwaters at North and South Gare. Dredging within the Tees Estuary may be depleting sediment to the south-east at Redcar, contributing to coastal erosion. Urban areas will need to be protected by maintaining coastal defences, but away from these areas there is the opportunity to allow intertidal habitats to shift through managed realignment within defined sections of the coast. 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: The sense of place in the NCA is provided by the broad, low-lying plain dominated by the meandering River Tees and its tributaries. There is a notable contrast between the large Teesside conurbation and the rural area to the south and west, which has a strong agricultural character. In the Tees Estuary, intertidal habitats are closely juxtaposed with heavy industry which forms a dramatic skyline from distant hills. Other areas, such as the wetlands of the Skerne carrs, have their own distinct character.

Sense of history: The agricultural history of the NCA is evident in the archaeological remains of ridge-and-furrow farming and deserted medieval villages, indicating a large rural population at that time, distinctive planned villages and courtyard farmsteads. The strategic importance of the Tees Estuary is evidenced by the large number of disused railway lines which were used to transport local mineral reserves to the coast as heavy industry developed during the 19th century. The area has a strong railway heritage, being the site of the world’s first passenger railway, and defences along the coast testify to its vulnerability to invasion during both World Wars.

Tranquillity: Undisturbed areas are still present in the undeveloped parts of the Tees Estuary, and in the quiet rural area to the south and west of the NCA. These tranquil areas can be protected by focusing new development around urban centres.

Recreation: There are a large number of country parks and accessible nature reserves within the NCA. Teesmouth National Nature Reserve provides access to, and aids understanding of, the valuable intertidal habitats of the estuary. There are also accessible woodlands, principally in the north-west of the NCA, and local greenspace and green corridors in urban areas. There is the opportunity to link existing green corridors to form a strategic green infrastructure network.

Biodiversity: The intertidal habitats, coastal and flood plain grazing marsh of the Tees Estuary are internationally designated for their importance for waterfowl. Protection of these areas, and appropriate management to encourage their regeneration, should be a priority in the NCA. Early successional grassland and scrub on brownfield sites also have significant biodiversity value. Semi-natural habitats within the farmed environment also provide an important biodiversity resource, and it will be important to protect and expand these habitats to form a coherent network.

Geodiversity: The underlying mudstones and sandstones in the NCA are covered by a thick layer of glacial and alluvial drift material, but are exposed at outcrops along the coast, most notably the Lower Jurassic sequence at Redcar. Red sandstones formed the vernacular building material in the area. Other features of interest include the ancient peat shelves at Hartlepool Submerged Forest; Cleveland Dyke, an intrusion of hard igneous material into the local strata; and the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer.