Natural Capital Assessment Glossary

Natural capital accounting is a tool where you can measure changes in the stock and condition of natural capital and feed these into reporting and accounting systems.

A natural capital assessment (NCA) is an examination of all aspects of natural capital relating to your operation. It looks at your business as a whole and identifies the area/s of natural capital which are critical to your operation, allowing for management options to be put in place. This process is designed to highlight areas on farm which should be focused on based on your business and environmental commitments.

An element of natural capital, such as soil, air and water.

The natural capital baseline is the starting point for measuring a natural capital assessment, from which relative change can be assessed over time.

Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you find in one area, from animals to micro-organisms, plants and fungi.

Services provided from nature to enhance human wellbeing. These include spiritual connection, recreation and education.

This involves assigning monetary value to ecosystem services using methods such as market pricing, contingent valuation or benefit transfer.

The direct and indirect contributions ecosystems (known as natural capital) provide for human wellbeing and quality of life.

The natural environment in which an animal or plant usually live.

The financial benefits invested into natural capital to enhance the environment, such as peatland restoration, soil improvement and woodland creation. The investment improves the quality of the natural capital and ecosystem services provided and so results in financial return.

Natural capital is the term used to describe the stock of natural resources available on earth, from renewable and non-renewable sources, that support our wellbeing and ability to provide goods and services.

This includes qualitative assessments or assigning relative importance to ecosystem services through stakeholder consultations and expert judgement.

Services which provide physical goods that we can gain from the environment, e.g. crops, wood, water.

Natural capital quality refers to the underlying condition of the asset and its ability to function.

Natural capital quantity refers to the amount of the asset available.

Services that nature provide to enhance our ecosystem, such as climate regulation, pollination and water filtration.

Risks to natural capital include pollution, over-extraction, climate change and invasive species.

Services essential to supporting our functioning ecosystems, such as nutrient cycling and soil formation. These services are critical to support all other ecosystem services.

The stock of natural capital refers to the extent and condition of the asset. For example, the quantity of trees within a broadleaf woodland.