About the map layers

 Click a category below to show/hide information about each of the map layers:

Disclaimer

Information displayed on this map viewer is subject to the limitations of the source data, which occasionally may be amended, updated or replaced. Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership provides the maps in good faith but cannot guarantee accuracy. Note that the Ecosystem Services and Nature Recovery Network layers are both the result of data modelling and should be viewed as indicative rather than precise.

To read about the rationale and limitations of the map layers, click on Info > Map metadata and check the background details for each map layer group.

We are indebted to a range of code, data and hosting resources which have enabled us to develop the Project and website. Many are Open Source and may be of use to others who want to create similar websites. Some were acquired on licence. Click a topic below for acknowledgements and links to related sources:

Gloucestershire Local Nature Partnership
Conservation Centre
Robinswood Hill Country Park
Reservoir Road
Gloucester
GL4 6SX

GLNP Manager: Matt Whitney
email: mattscrew up this email address to thwart bots@gloucestershirenatureand again.org.uk

Provisioning Services: Food provision

This service covers agricultural and horticultural production of food products via arable crops, livestock, vegetables, and fruits, plus land which provides hunting and/or gathering of food.

This is a relational map layer, ie the underlying ecosystem services, derived from the habitat inventory, are modified by other data in order to provide a more relevant food provision score. The modifying data is the Agricultural Land Classification. Only a baseline layer is currently available: areas with high existing food provision service show darker on the map.

The source data for the modifying layer is Natural England's Agricultural Land Classification dataset (2020). Thus areas with appropriate habitat will score higher if the agricultural land classification is high, less if the classification is low. There are some limitations to the current version: for example, the Agricultural Land Classification is very generalised, and the underlying habitat inventory doesn't always take land management regimes into account. This, and the construction of a Food Provision Opportunities map layer, may be addressed in future if suitable datasets are available.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Provisioning Services: Water supply

This service covers the extent to which surface flow and groundwater recharge are impacted by soils and vegetation through processes of run-off and filtration.

This service has both a baseline and an opportunity map. The baseline map is non-relational, relying on the habitat inventory. The opportunities map is relational, ie the underlying ecosystem services, derived from the habitat inventory, are modified by other data in order to provide a more relevant water supply opportunity score. The modifying data is the Environment Agency’s (2020) Water Resource Availability and Abstraction Reliability Cycle 2 dataset -used as a proxy for water supply.

Limitations to the maps are chiefly due to lack of suitable modifying data. For example, climate and local precipitation levels, or geology and aquifer location. Thus the baseline map has no modifying data, and the opportunities map is modified only by estimated (modelled) water resource availability on a broad scale. Future updates might benefit from quantitative data for these and other spatial factors which might affect water supply.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Regulating Services: Carbon storage

This service covers the quantities of carbon stored in soil and vegetation (rather than 'carbon sequestration', the ability of habitat to actively sequester carbon over time, which may be addressed in future Ecosystem Services map updates).

A non-relational dataset was produced to map the Carbon Storage ecosystem service baseline within Gloucestershire. The rationale for not selecting a modification layer for the Carbon Storage baseline was (i) the absence of an available dataset that could be used as a spatial modifier for the ecosystem service and (ii) the complexity of interaction between a habitat’s spatial configuration and its ability to sequester carbon.

Limitations to the maps are chiefly due to lack of knowledge of the full role of each habitat type as a carbon store, particularly wetland, which may be under-represented compared with woodland, and soil depth, for which the relationship with carbon storage has not yet been fully evaluated. Future updates will take advantage of the latest research and may result in more accurate eco-metric evaluation and representation of all habitats throughout the score.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Regulating Services: Water flow regulation

This service comprises the impact of soil and vegetation on reducing surface run-off, peak flow, and flood extent and depth. Mechanisms include interception, evapotranspiration, infiltration, and physical water flow slowing. It is therefore the ecosystem service commonly associated with flood risk and flood alleviation planning.

Water Flow Regulation has both a baseline and an opportunity map. Both maps are relational, relying on modifying datasets in addition to the habitat inventory. The modifier layer for the baseline map consists of the intersection of habitats from the Gloucestershire Habitat Inventory with flow pathways generated from a 25m-resolution Digital Elevation Model (European Environment Agency, 2016) of the county.

For the opportunity map, flow pathways, flow pathway nodes, and the Water Flow Regulation Baseline layer, were entered into the model. The baseline input was ‘inverted’ by subtracting each value from the maximum in the dataset. Cost analysis was used to calculate cumulative flood risk of cells intersecting flow pathways from outlet to source. The cumulative flood risk values were split into deciles to produce a 10-point score used to modify baseline values. The line vector data was converted to distinct polygons for each decile using Voronoi polygons, defined from the vertices of the flow pathways. These polygons were then dissolved to produce one polygon per decile, and the polygons rasterised as per the multiplier values.

Limitations to the maps related to the precision of the digital elevation model which formed part of the modifying data; at 25cm it was not the highest resolution data available, but full coverage of better data is not yet available for all of Gloucestershire, only parts.

The flow pathway intersection completed for the baseline layer does not account for position of an intersecting habitat within the catchment. This may be completed through a cost analysis of the flow pathways from outlet to source; this would act as a proxy for measuring the position of each cell within a pathway from the pathway’s outlet. Climate change is also not factored into the flood risk data used here but should be considered as flood risk data is updated to include modelled climate change impacts.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Regulating Services: Local climate regulation

This service provides the cooling effects of vegetation and water, in particular in urban areas where these can reduce heating and cooling costs and provide areas of shade.

Climate regulation has both a baseline and an opportunity map. The baseline map is non-relational, relying on the habitat inventory. The opportunity map is relational only so far as excluding areas which fell outside of 250m of an urban area (as calculated from Ordnance Survey maps). Opportunities are thus limited to built-up areas, creating a map of likely demand.

Limitations to the maps are chiefly due to lack of adequate mapping for some key features, for example street trees. There is also a need to take into account the enhanced role of habitats in or near urban heat areas, a factor which isn't well understood at present. Future versions of the maps might also take into account the connection between demand for local climate regulation, particularly cooling, and density of residential areas.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Regulating Services: Air pollutant removal

This service covers the effect of vegetation on concentrations of air pollutants through mechanisms including deposition, absorption, and chemical breakdown.

Air pollutant removal has both a baseline and an opportunity map. The baseline map is non-relational, relying on the habitat inventory; a score was assigned based on removal of general air pollutants rather than for each specific pollutants. The opportunity map is relational, taking into account both the inverse of the baseline map and the proximity to urban areas and major roads. Highest-scoring opportunity areas are therefore closest to heavy traffic emissions and lacking in existing helpful habitats.

The maps make some assumptions and have some limitations. It has been assumed that national and regional roads and urban areas are the major sources of air pollution within Gloucestershire. However, there are likely to be other sources – both point and diffuse – that have not been accounted for in this analysis. These may include nitrogen emissions from arable land and point source emissions from industrial sources. These could be included in future analysis, should suitable data be available.

The value used to determine the buffer distance from roads and urban areas is based on values from nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions; the behaviour of other atmospheric pollutants (e.g. carbon dioxide) is likely to vary. Future work could account for this by allocating pollutants to each source and producing a buffer value from these sources based on the specific pollutants. More than one set of maps could improve the usefulness of the current datasets.

As with Local Climate Regulation, demand for air pollutant removal is greatest in residential areas. Future work will, if availability of data allows, consider classifying urban areas to broad classes (e.g. commercial, industrial, residential) to recognise variations in demand for the air pollutant removal within urban areas. Population density may also be used as a proxy for this.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Cultural Services: Recreation

The recreation ecosystem service is defined as 'Provision of green and blue spaces that can be used for any recreational leisure activity e.g. walking, cycling, running, picnicking, camping, boating, games or relaxing.'

This ecosystem service has both a baseline and an opportunity layer, both of which are relational to key factors which are known to influence the suitability of natural habitat for recreational use. The rationale for selecting a modification layer for the baseline was in recognition that accessibility of land strongly influences the extent to which the Recreation ecosystem service is used by people.

To produce a relational recreation opportunity dataset, the inverse of the baseline dataset was modified by index of multiple deprivation (IMD) data at the lower-layer super output area (LSOA) level. The rationale for using IMD data is that in areas of high deprivation individuals are likely to be less able to travel to access areas where the interaction with nature ecosystem service is provided.

A considerable amount of research has been carried out into factors affecting outdoor recreation, providing a good level of modifying data. However, some factors have yet to be taken into account and may be used to improve the maps in future updates, for example the role of gardens and other access to private land. The importance of urban greenspace may also be under-represented. For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Cultural Services: Education

The education ecosystem service is defined as 'Provision of green and blue spaces that can provide educational benefit.'

A primary dataset gathered from questionnaires distributed to natural visitor sites within the county of Gloucestershire and surrounding area was used as a basis for a relational baseline of good educational ecosystem services. Questionnaires sought to obtain insights into the level of visitor infrastructure present at each site, for example, visitor centres, interpretation boards, toilet facilities, and car parks. The locations of natural visitor sites were then analysed in conjunction with road and footpath infrastructure to identify areas within a 10-minute (0.8km) walk and 10-minute drive (4km) from site. This analysis aimed to quantify natural visitor centres' accessibility and identify where access is most limited. Network analysis of these pathways was used to create tiers within the modifier layer - download a copy of the full map descriptor sheet for more details (download button above).

Note that the baseline data has some limitations and may not fully represent the current level of ecosystem service, as the extent and capacity of natural visitor sites was not taken into account, and the list of visitor centres was not exhaustive. The current map should therefore been seen as only part of the current picture.

A relational opportunity dataset was produced to map opportunities to improve the education ecosystem service in Gloucestershire. This dataset was produced through multiplying the inverse of the baseline dataset by index of multiple deprivation (IMD) data at the lowerlayer super output area (LSOA) level. The rationale for using IMD data is that in areas of high deprivation individuals are likely to be less able to travel to access areas where the interaction with nature ecosystem service is provided.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Cultural Services: Interaction with nature

Interaction with nature is here calculated according to opportunities for formal or informal nature-related activities, (e.g. birdwatching, random encounters with wildlife, or feeling ‘connected with nature’). There is some overlap with biodiversity, but access by people can have negative impacts on some wildlife habitats. Excludes recreational fishing, hunting, shooting, or intrinsic value of nature.

A relational dataset was produced to map the interaction with nature ecosystem service baseline within Gloucestershire based on existing habitats in conjunction with overlapping designated sites. There are some drawbacks with this approach, and future versions of the baseline map are likely to change once more useful modifiers have been applied, such as site condition and accessibility. In some respects the approach used for the recreation ecosystem service may give a better impression of the current interaction with nature baseline.

A relational opportunity dataset was produced to map interaction with nature opportunity in Gloucestershire. This dataset was produced through multiplying the inverse of the baseline dataset by index of multiple deprivation (IMD) data at the lower-layer super output area (LSOA) level. The rationale for using IMD data is that in areas of high deprivation individuals are likely to be less able to travel to access areas where the interaction with nature ecosystem service is provided.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Cultural Services: Sense of place

Sense of place is here defined as 'The aspects of a place that make it special and distinctive – this could include locally characteristic species, habitats, landscapes, or features; places related to historic and cultural events, or places important to people for spiritual or emotional reasons.'

Whilst this is well known to be an important ecosystem service, it can be hard to quantify using existing data. A Sense of place baseline map was produced using designated sites and features of interest as a modifier to the underlying habitat inventory. Designated sites included: local nature reserves (LNRs), national nature reserves (NNRs), sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), and special areas of conservation (SACs), areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs), country parks, Millennium Greens, Doorstep Greens, registered battlefields, registered parks and gardens, and scheduled ancient monuments.

The resulting baseline map was so similar to the Interaction with Nature map that it is not displayed here; future Natural Capital Mapping Project updates may add this map to the website if a better version can be produced with suitable modifying data which is more specific to the service in question.

An opportunity dataset was not produced for the sense of place ecosystem service due to the absence of meaningful data that can be used to assess where sense of place currently being delivered by natural capital assets is not meeting demand for delivery of the ecosystem service.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Bundled benefits: Biodiversity

This natural capital 'bundled benefit' comprises the ability of a habitat to support a diverse range of species, providing a variety of environmental, social, and economic benefits. These layers should be viewed in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Nature Recovery Network.

Biodiversity has both a baseline and an opportunity map. Both maps are relational, with both the underlying habitat inventory and other factors being taken into account for scoring. For the baseline biodiversity map, the Nature Recovery Network and associated habitat connectivity was used as a modifier. For the opportunity layer, the Nature Recovery Network was likewise used as a modifier, along with potential connectivity gains and a blanket category of existing Core Habitats. Thus the areas of highest opportunity are darkest/warmest on the map, but existing (assumed low opportunity) Priority Habitats are highlighted rather than given the usual low opportunity colour.

The Biodiversity maps have the benefit of all the research and modelling that went into the Nature Recovery Network (NRN). However, The NRN is currently in development, so these derived layers should be updated periodically as the NRN is updated.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Bundled benefits: Water quality

This natural capital 'bundled benefit' comprises the uptake of pollutants dissolved or suspended in water by vegetation, and the ability of vegetation to prevent pollutants reaching waterbodies through interception and filtration.

The baseline map for the water quality ecosystem service is non-relational and depends on the habitats identified in the Habitat Inventory, and their known suitability for providing this service. Future updates may add modifier scores as and when useful modifying datasets become available. An opportunity layer was not produced for water quality due to absence of meaningful data about where the current demand is being met. As with the baseline map, a modified opportunity layer may be produced as part of future updates, eg. when useful modifiers such as Water Framework Directive monitoring data becomes available in a suitable format.

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.

Bundled benefits: Soil health

This natural capital 'bundled benefit' comprises the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.

A non-relational dataset was produced to map the soil health ecosystem service baseline within Gloucestershire. A basic non-relational baseline map based on the Habitat Inventory is the best currently-available version. The rationale for not selecting a modification layer for the soil health baseline was the absence of an available dataset that could be used as a spatial modifier for the ecosystem service, whilst accounting for localised variation in soils.

Similar to water quality, an opportunity dataset was not produced for the soil health ecosystem service due to the absence of a meaningful dataset that can be used to assess where the ecosystem service of soil health currently being delivered by natural capital assets is not meeting demand for delivery of the ecosystem service

For a full map descriptor sheet with more details, modifier scores and references, click the download button above.