WIREDGOV

Main points

• This article presents the first experimental farmland physical ecosystem accounts for the years 1998 to 2014. These accounts form part of a suite of ecosystem accounts being compiled for different habitats within the UK as part of a strategy to incorporate natural capital into the UK Environmental Accounts by 2020.
• The extent of farmland coverage in the UK was relatively stable between 1998 and 2014, although the types of land use within the broad habitat farmland have changed significantly.
• Land used for cropped and uncropped arable land and rough grazing has declined. The abolition of the statutory set aside scheme, under the Common Agricultural Policy and changing prices for cereals are likely to have contributed to this decline.
• Land used for permanent grassland, has increased in this time. This likely contributed to the increase in regulating services, as measured by global climate regulation and waste mediation.
• The condition accounts show that the condition of farmland is falling in quality, in terms of soil carbon concentration and specialist bird populations.

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