FOI reference: FOI-2025-2607
You asked
Please provide data on:
Habitats: woodland, peatland, fresh water/wetlands/flood plains, mountains/moorland/heath, semi natural grasslands.
Ecosystems: uplifting biodiversity, rewilding, species recovery, agricultural biomass provisioning, renewable electricity provisioning, timber provisioning, wood fuel provisioning, water provisioning, greenhouse gas regulating, noise regulating, recreation.
- Definitions for each type of ecosystem (see above)
- UK Habitat annual value 2019-2024
- Amount of farmland used for Natural Capital ecosystem delivery in UK (broken down by country)
- Amount of farmland potential (not used or developed on) in UK (broken down by country)
- Amount of total projects in UK from 2019-2024 (broken down by types, see above)
- Amount of projects signed up via Woodland Carbon Code, Peatland Carbon Code, biodiversity gain sites register, voluntary carbon market, voluntary BNG market
- The total annual value of ecosystem services in the UK from 2019-2024 (inc. breakdown by country)
- Total estimated annual value of ecosystem services in UK 2024-2030
- The net annual value of greenhouse gas regulating services was estimated between 2019-2024
- Asset Value of each type of project (i.e. see above)
- Greenhouse gases removed or emitted by nature, by country, UK from 2019-2024 (inc. breakdown of ecosystem service associated to nature being removed, see above)
- Type of Landowner Organisation with Natural Capital value on their land (i.e. private farm, estate, charitable trust, institutional trust, investment banks)
- Average Natural Capital Project Turnover (inc. broken down by each type of project, see above)
- Length of project (years -- inc. broken down by each type of project, see above)
- Project Specific: Habitat Species, Project Habitat Types
- Project Size: Hectares of project land (inc. broken down by each type of project)
- Location of Site (county, country, postcode)
We said
Thank you for your enquiry about aspects of the UK natural capital accounts.
Our Natural Capital Accounts publication contains summary and more detailed data tables providing some of the information you have requested. These contain breakdowns for each ecosystem service from 2016 to 2022, with data for some ecosystem services available for years prior to 2016 and/or for 2023. This is due to the availability and timeliness of data sources used to compile the accounts. No data are currently available for 2024.
Ecosystem services can be divided into three categories.
Provisioning services refer to tangible goods that people can harvest, extract, or derive from the environment, such as food, water, energy, and materials.
Regulating services help to maintain the quality of the environment we rely on.
Cultural services are the non-material benefits we get from interacting with ecosystems through recreation and tourism, and their associated health benefits.
The Natural Capital Accounts publication provides figures for the following ecosystem services:
Agricultural biomass provisioning: estimates the value of crops, fodder and grazed biomass provided to support agricultural production.
Coal provisioning: The value of the production of coal.
Fish provisioning: estimates the value of marine fish taken from mainland UK waters.
Minerals and metal provisioning: The value of the extraction of minerals and metals to support production, largely consisting of extraction aggregates.
Oil and Gas provisioning: The value of production of crude oil, gas, and coal.
Renewable electricity provisioning: Electricity generated from renewable sources -- wind, hydroelectric, solar, wave, and tidal.
Timber and wood fuel provisioning: The value of wood production (also referred to as removals) is the harvesting of roundwood (trunks and branches) from coniferous (softwood) and broadleaved (hardwood) trees.
Water provisioning: The service of water provisioning estimates the value of public water supply.
Air pollution regulating: estimates the value of the removal of air pollution by habitats in the UK.
Greenhouse gas regulating: estimates the value of the removal of greenhouse gases, in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), from the atmosphere by habitats in the UK.
Noise regulating: estimates the value of vegetation that acts as a buffer against noise pollution, such as from road traffic.
Urban heat regulating: estimates the value of green (for example, parks) and blue (for example, lakes) spaces that can cool urban environments on hot days.
Recreation and Tourism (expenditure): estimates the amount spent to enable visits to the natural environment, such as transport, car parking and admission costs.
Recreation (health benefits): estimates the number of people gaining health benefits from regular recreation, and the monetary value associated with this.
Recreation and aesthetic (house prices): Recreation and aesthetic values for house prices are the additional expenditure on houses that are near to or contain green (land) and blue (water) spaces, enabling people to make free trips to the natural environment, as well as the value added to a property by a view of a green or blue space.
Each ecosystem service is allocated to one or more of the following of our broad eight habitats:
Enclosed Farmland
Woodland
Mountains, moorland, and heath
Semi-natural grassland
Urban
Freshwater, wetlands, and floodplains
Coastal Margins
Marine
Where we are unable to allocate an ecosystem service to a habitat, this will either be classed as 'Other' or 'Unallocated'.
The definitions for each of our eight broad habitats are in our methodology guide. The detailed summary tables provide breakdowns by habitat for each ecosystem service, with further breakdowns within the Air pollution regulating and Greenhouse gas regulating ecosystem services. Notably, the Greenhouse gas regulating service contains a breakdown by Peatland habitat (available within Table 12 in the detailed summary tables). The Peatland habitat is classed as cross cutting, and in this instance is mapped to Freshwater, wetlands, and floodplains habitat (see our methodology guide).
As noted above, answers to the following parts of your request are available from our summary and detailed summary tables:
The total annual value of ecosystem services in the UK from 2019-2024 (inc. breakdown by country): The UK value for 1998 to 2023 (where applicable) can be found in Table 3 in our summary tables, while England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can be found in Tables 8, 12, 16 and 20 respectively.
UK Habitat annual value 2019-2024: The UK habitat annual value from 2016-2022 can be found in Table 6 within our summary tables.
Total estimated annual value of ecosystem services in UK 2024-2030: The ONS does not project future natural capital valuations. Our next release scheduled for late 2025 will provide 2023 annual value estimates for each ecosystem service where the required data are available.
The net annual value of greenhouse gas regulating services between 2019-2024: Our detailed summary tables show Greenhouse gas regulating annual value for 1990-2022 in Table 12.
Greenhouse gases removed or emitted by nature, by country, UK from 2019-2024 (inc. breakdown of ecosystem service associated to nature being removed, see above): Table 12 in our detailed summary tables provides physical flows (tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by UK, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for 1990-2022. The Greenhouse gas regulating service estimates the removal of greenhouse gases, in CO2e, from the atmosphere by habitats in the UK. These estimates represent net values, reflecting both storage and removal of greenhouse gases as a single service.
Amount of farmland used for Natural Capital ecosystem delivery in UK (broken down by country) & Amount of farmland potential (not used or developed on) in UK (broken down by country): We do not measure the amount of farmland or farmland potential for Natural Capital ecosystem delivery. Table 1 in our detailed summary tables provide figures for hectares covered by "Enclosed Farmland".
For your remaining enquiries, the ONS does not calculate or hold any project-level natural capital valuations, nor does it calculate or hold breakdowns by landowner organisation. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and their associated bodies may hold relevant information on projects/landowners. You may wish to contact them at defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk.
If you have any further questions on the Natural Capital Accounts, please contact us at natural.capital.team@ons.gov.uk.