biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions SCIENCE AREA SUMMARY Ecological Processes & Resilience Environmental Informatics Monitoring & Observation Systems NaturalHazards Pollution & Environmental Risk Soil Sustainable Land Management
CEH SCIENCE AREAS Water Resources NATURAL CAPITAL
Photos: Shutterstock; CEH Assessing the state of our natural assets Research activity in the UK and overseas, in and their benefits to people. rural and in urban areas, will include: interpretation of our UK-wide surveys and Context monitoring datasets, including soil, water, Humans are dependent on goods and services air, plants and animals, in terms of stocks provided by the natural environment, including and change in natural capital. soils, insect pollinators and water. We use the term natural capital to recognise the identification of key indicators for natural importance of nature’s assets and the benefits capital that inform stocks and change. that flow from them. This gives natural capital production of tools for measurement, equal status in decision-making alongside: assessment, mapping and accounting manufactured capital (e.g. buildings), human of natural capital. capital (e.g. knowledge), financial capital (e.g. loans) and social capital (e.g. relationships). detection of past and projection of likely It is often the combination of natural and future changes in natural capital under other capital that delivers society’s needs. external drivers and pressures. definition of levels of sustainable Our Research utilisation of natural capital and CEH has unrivalled expertise and experience identification of irreversible thresholds. in the science of the natural environment that underpins natural capital. The Natural Capital identification of natural capital at risk. Science Area brings this together, such that the delivery of strategies for sound natural new whole is more than a sum of the existing capital restoration and management. and future parts of CEH. We will use surveys, experiments, analysis and modelling to produce detailed knowledge of water, soils, plants, animals and atmosphere provided by the UK environment. We will assess the amount and character of living and non-living resources, how they relate to each other and how they produce goods and services for us. With this knowledge we will work with other experts in economics, health and sociology to evaluate the benefits of natural capital to human well-being, how to balance exploitation with protection and where management and restoration efforts should be targeted. Front cover photos - Shutterstock Front Photo - Shutterstock Science Excellence to Impact
1964: Biological Records Centre (BRC) 1982: National River Flow Archive established to established as UK focus for recording collate, manage and disseminate UK water terrestrial and freshwater species resources data. distribution. 1992: Environmental Change Network established 1968: Surveillance monitoring of Loch to collect, analyse and interpret long-term Leven begins. data to identify trends in the environment.
<1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s/1990s 2000s
1945: Surveillance 1976: UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme 2008: River Lambourn observatory established. monitoring of established for standardised 2009: CEH established Natural Capital Initiative Cumbrian Lakes population monitoring. with partners. begins. 1978: CEH initiated the Countryside Survey 2010s: CEH produced inventory of ecosystem services to “audit” the natural resources in wetland and shallow lake systems. of the UK’s countryside. Further CEH contributed to natural capital asset checks surveys undertaken in 1984, 1990, and state of natural capital report for the UK 1998 and 2007. Natural Capital Committee. Photos: L to R: 1. CEH; 2 & 3. H Lowther, CEH; 4. Andy Sier, CEH ; 5. CEH. CEH; 4. Andy Sier, Photos: L to R: 1. CEH; 2 & 3. H Lowther,
Future Research Objectives Defining the status of (UK) Recording how natural capital Defining sustainable levels of Guiding management and natural capital. is changing and identifying natural capital exploitation. restoration of natural capital. causes of change. By 2019, we will: By 2019, we will: By 2019, we will: By 2019, we will: establish a knowledge base review the evidence for thresholds review evidence and identify options for and hub on natural capital. quantify short and long-term trends of change or tipping points. restoration of specific ecosystems. and natural variations and how these report on the inventory, value and examine the links between produce a framework for assessing vary at local and national scales. trends in soil carbon stocks in UK resource exploitation targets and trade-offs in ecosystem services for Coastal Margin habitats. explain the causes of observed variations sustainable management. management options. and trends and the sensitivity of develop metrics and accounting produce a framework for assessing evaluate the role of off-setting to natural capital to different drivers. units to measure extent and sustainable exploitation. mitigate loss of natural capital. condition of natural capital. produce a framework for develop a register of natural capital at risk. produce guidance on the size and projecting future trends. produce an inventory of natural capital configuration requirements for key quantity and quality and how this influences elements of our natural capital. the provision of ecosystem services.
CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY [email protected] l www.ceh.ac.uk Photos: Shutterstock; CEH
Links to other CEH Partnerships Science Areas CEH has a unique capability in the UK, integrating science in terrestrial and freshwater Natural Capital embraces much of the research environments that underpins the UK’s ability to that CEH undertakes, thus strong links with report on stocks and change in the components the other CEH Science Areas are crucial, of natural capital. We will work collaboratively including data from Monitoring & Observation with other organisations particularly with Systems and Soils and environmental expertise in economic and social aspects of processes understanding from Water natural capital to deliver knowledge of the flow Resources, Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions of benefits from natural capital to people. and Ecosystem Processes & Resilience. Examples of our existing collaborations are: CEH’s Environmental Informatics programme CSIRO, Australia – ecosystem services will develop tools to link data, analysis and and natural capital accounting dissemination to support the CEH and wider University of East Anglia – economic research community. A prime example is a valuation web-based semantic catalogue to translate University of Cambridge – evidence to information on available datasets to natural underpin natural capital stewardship capital language, thus enabling discovery of suitable data.
Contact Science Area Lead Business Development Manager Natural Capital Neil Runnalls. [email protected] Mike Acreman. [email protected] Science Coordinator Nick Jackson. [email protected] Front cover photos - Shutterstock Front