Benefits of SENCE natural capital evaluation

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning: Ensuring Success and Accountability

With extensive experience in monitoring the effectiveness of UK agri-environmental policies, we provide support for the continuous improvement of land stewardship programs. Our collaborative work with research partners, such as ICF, LUC and CCRI helps ensure agri-environment schemes (AES) deliver tangible benefits for the environment.

Recent and ongoing projects, with links to reports published to date:

  • In-depth assessments of the role of AES in managing protected sites like SSSIs (LM0481), geological sites (LM04113), archaeological features, dry stone walls, as well as landscape character, climate change adaptation (LM0484) and delivery of climate resilience, nature recovery and ecological restoration (LM04101 and LM04127)  
  • Comprehensive reviews of AES interventions for a range of habitats, including water meadow management, wood pasture and historic parkland (LM04186), arable reversion, bracken (LM04118), coastal and floodplain grazing marsh (LM0498), and floodplain biodiversity.
  • Resurveys of Higher-Level Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship Agreements and An Evidence review for AES interventions 
  • Developing tools and improving processes: 
    • Review of Priority Habitat Inventory Dataset to Enhance Role in Nature Recovery
    • Biodiversity Policy Analysis Tool, Habitat Target Reporting Scoping
    • Characterising Scrub using Earth observation; and 
    • Identifying Trees Outside Woodland.

Trend Analysis: Empowering Decision-Making with Actionable Data

Our innovative tools and methodologies provide reliable, scalable indicators that detect shifts in environmental trends, enabling stakeholders to assess risks effectively and anticipate the impacts of land management changes.

Habitat Change Detection Tool: JNCC developed a proof of concept decision support tool to detect habitat condition changes using satellite data. We further refined this with ‘indicators of change’ for grasslands; linking satellite-derived indices to land management practices and incorporating spatial context by considering surrounding grassland sites for robust change detection analysis. Report in publication.

Transforming Strategic Land Use Planning with Cutting-Edge Tools

We create geospatial baselines for natural capital at an impressive resolution of 10m using SENCE.  With over 100 successful projects delivered, here are highlights from three recent examples:

Jersey:  Quantified existing carbon storage and identified optimal locations for enhanced soil carbon sequestration through practices like regenerative agriculture.

Derbyshire: : Developed a comprehensive evidence base for the Derbyshire Natural Capital Strategy, supporting the county’s efforts to create natural capital accounts.

Hampshire: In partnership with eftec, we produced ecosystem services maps to establish a strong baseline for food production, biodiversity, flood management, and carbon storage, while also assessing the condition of natural assets. This analysis supports a multi-stakeholder approach for identifying and prioritising land management changes that can be supported by Defra ELMs to reverse biodiversity loss and tackle climate change. 

Nature Recovery and Biodiversity: Driving Restoration and Ecosystem Health

Meeting global biodiversity targets requires more than just tracking progress—it requires strategic, data-driven decision-making to restore and connect wildlife habitats. We facilitate this with sophisticated spatial prioritisation and action planning to ensure that resources are allocated effectively.

Gwent Green Grid Partnership: We identified Nature Recovery Networks across the GGGP area, mapping habitat extent and where there is potential to deliver more, better, bigger and more connected wildlife habitats. These maps highlight the diversity, extent, condition and connectivity of Gwent’s ecosystems to support ground interventions, to bolster resilience and nature recovery. In tandem with this, we develop a community engagement strategy with GGGP key stakeholders.

Northern Ireland: Working with the Woodland Trust, we provided spatial modelling to inform national woodland planting targets, optimising biodiversity benefits while mitigating negative impacts on agricultural land and habitats.

Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Monitoring and Data Insights

By integrating advanced technologies such as remote sensing and climate modelling, we improve data collection efficiency and generate new insights.

Climate Change Modelling for Welsh Agriculture: Using UKCP18 climate data, we modelled the impact of climate change on crop viability in Wales, helping to inform future land use planning. We modelled current land capability for growing 118 different crops (including novel crops and timber) and how this could change for each crop in the future (2020, 2050, 2080). Our work was showcased by the UK Committee on Climate Change. 

Environmental Research Collaboration for England: This cutting-edge technology-driven project is developing and testing proof-of-concept methods to enhance environmental monitoring for Environmental Land Management Schemes. It employs techniques such as computer vision to map features like scrub, walls and ponds at a national scale, using open-source aerial and satellite data, and advancing automated assessment of hedgerow condition from photographs taken in the field.

Empowering Stakeholders to Advance Nature and Climate Goals

National carbon dataset: Our strategic engagement with key stakeholders helps bridge the gap between nature restoration and climate action. Following a review of the evidence behind Natural England’s open-source ‘Spatial Prioritisation of Land Management for Carbon Dataset,’ our experts updated national carbon storage maps for England’s habitats. Communication tools were produced to share the learning and new data with key stakeholders, including Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Natural England Area Teams, Living Landscapes, and National Parks. Dataset and publication

COP26 Plenary: Our environmental monitoring expert, Jacqueline Parker, was an invited panel speaker at Earth Information Day in Glasgow during the UK premiership of COP, where she discussed the importance of partnership working, trust, capacity building and transitioning from research to product and service development as being essential to taking climate action worldwide.