157 - The Lizard : Natural Capital and Key Ecosystem Services

Introduction

The Lizard 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 Lizard 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

Provisioning services (food, fibre and water supply)

Food provision: This area is a producer of milk, beef and lamb from livestock grazing the farmland and some sections of heathland. On the more productive land, particularly in the east of the NCA, some vegetables and cereals are grown. There is still some fishing industry along the coast where crabs and lobsters are the main catch. The area is also home to some small, speciality food producers such as Roskilly ice cream.

Water availability: The NCA overlies formations of impermeable rock and there is no significant groundwater resource. Most of the public water supply comes from Stithians Reservoir, which is outside the NCA. Small groundwater abstractions of water in the NCA are mainly for local domestic supplies. 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: The peaty nature of the soil and the areas of heath and mire contribute to carbon sequestration and storage. This will be needed to be taken into consideration when planning any land use change in these vulnerable areas.

Regulating soil erosion: The slowly permeable clayey soils covering 38 per cent of the NCA have a low risk of soil erosion. The freely draining slightly acid but base-rich soils may be susceptible to capping and slaking, increasing the risk of soil erosion. To reduce this risk, these soils need to be managed carefully when timing cultivation and maintaining vegetation cover. The freely draining slightly acid loamy soils have an enhanced risk of soil erosion on moderately or steeply sloping land where cultivated or bare soil is exposed; this is exacerbated where organic matter levels are low after continuous arable cultivation or where soils are compacted. There is the potential for wind erosion on some coarse textured soils planted with cultivated variants. The freely draining acid loamy soils over rock are often found on steep land and are therefore extra-susceptible to pluvial erosion. The Helford River, which forms the northern boundary of this NCA, falls into a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) priority catchment – the West Cornwall Catchment. It suffers from sedimentation resulting from soil erosion where soils on steep slopes are left bare under vegetable production.

Regulating soil quality: There are four main soil types in this NCA. Soils are easily damaged when wet and therefore it is important to minimise compaction and/or capping risk which will tend to exacerbate run-off problems. These soils may have limited potential for increasing organic matter levels by management interventions.

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).

Pollination: The network of Cornish hedgebanks, heathland, species-rich grassland and meadows supports a diverse range of pollinating insects important for the area’s vegetable and crop pollination.

Regulating coastal flooding and erosion: The hard geology of the area has resulted in a coastline that is resilient to coastal erosion. However, rises in sea level will increase flooding risks in small coves such as Mullion. 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 Lizard NCA consists of a prominent headland with a strong maritime influence, dominated by a windswept plateau and a dramatic coastline of cliffs and sheltered coves topped by heath and maritime grasslands. The exposure of the plateau and coast contrasts with the more intimate landscape in the east – with undulating mixed farmland set within an irregular pattern of ancient Cornish hedgebank-bound fields, small woodlands, farmsteads and scattered granite hamlets – ending at the southern banks of the peaceful Helford River. This all combines to create a landscape with a strong and distinctive sense of place and rich cultural heritage: 98 per cent of The Lizard NCA is within the Cornwall AONB and 4,531 ha (31 per cent of the NCA) are recognised as Heritage Coast.

Sense of history: The Lizard has a wealth of archaeological remains, including bronze-age barrows, iron-age cliff castles, ancient trackways, prehistoric defended farmsteads and ancient field systems. There is also a rich maritime history evidenced by the ancient fishing villages, such as Cadgwith and Coverack, scattered along the rugged coastline. Other important historical features within the landscape include the small-scale, irregular, ancient fields enclosed with traditional Cornish hedgebanks to the south of St Keverne and around Lowland Point, and the use of vernacular building materials such as serpentinite, slate and granite, cob, white-wash and some thatch.

Tranquillity: The wild, remote and varied character of the landscape is reflected in high levels of tranquillity. Some 90 per cent of the Lizard is classed as ‘undisturbed’, representing only a 2 per cent decline since the 1960s; this makes the area an important unchanging oasis of tranquillity. The only major intrusions into the landscape are the Satellite Earth Station and the wind turbines at Bonython on Goonhilly Downs, and Predannack airfield; these, along with tourism development, have led to the slight decline in tranquillity.

Recreation: The area is a popular tourist destination, particularly for walking and visiting historical villages such as Lizard. Opportunities are provided by tracts of open access and common land on the open plateau and coast, covering 17 per cent of the NCA; these are supplemented by a strong rights of way network, including 60 km of the South West Coast Path National Trail. Other recreational activities include camping, horse riding, sea kayaking, sailing and rock climbing. Local food and produce, culture and tradition complement the overall experience of the landscape. The popularity of certain destinations has led to high visitor pressure which requires careful management.

Biodiversity: The Lizard is recognised as being of outstanding conservation importance. Its range of semi-natural habitats supports a high diversity of plants and animals. Over 250 species of national or international conservation importance are found here, many of which are restricted to the Lizard or to the south-west of England, for example fringed rupturewort and twin-headed clover. It is home to nearly 75 nationally rare or scarce flowering plants, many of which are found in the heathland, maritime grassland, mire and cliff habitats. A key component of these is Cornish heath, a species of heather which, although rare in a national context, is locally abundant. The Lizard also supports nationally important communities of lower plants. Over 200 species of lichen are recorded in the serpentinite area alone.

There are at least seven species of bat, including the endangered greater and lesser horseshoe bats. One of the world’s rarest seals, the grey seal, breeds in small numbers on the Lizard coast. There are nearly 70 nationally rare or scarce insect species found on the Lizard, and coastal heath and grassland is also an important habitat for spiders. The number and diversity of plants and invertebrates present support regionally important breeding populations of heathland specialist birds such as the nightjar and the Dartford warbler. Small birds and mammals provide food for birds of prey, many of which are rare or declining. The cliffs are now home again to a small breeding population of choughs. This abundance of biodiversity is reflected in the fact that 20 per cent of the area lies within a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). There are also 12 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) wholly or partly within the NCA, covering 3,052 ha (21 per cent) of the area, and 13 per cent of the NCA is designated as the Lizard NNR

Geodiversity: The NCA has a complex and unusual geology comprising mainly igneous and metamorphic rocks, with Devonian slate and sandstone in the north. The multi-coloured serpentinite and gneisses are the main underlying rocks. It is the serpentinite rock which makes the geology of the Lizard peninsula special; it contains nearly 52 km2 of serpentinite rock which is the largest outcrop of such rock in mainland Britain. There is some small-scale quarrying of gabbro for coastal defence and some very small-scale digging for serpentinite for a local industry making ornaments. Once abandoned, the quarries become valuable for the study of geology and as wildlife habitats. Within the NCA there are two geological SSSI, seven mixed interest SSSI and ten Local Geological Sites.