Introduction - Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Cotswolds AONB Management Plan 2013-2018
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning Services
Food (e.g. crops, livestock, fish, game) Cotswold farmers produce food through arable crops, the
breeding of store lambs, suckled calves and, increasingly, finished lamb and beef and a limited
quantity of dairy products.
Link to Plan
Objective/s
CEO2
Water supply The catchments on the Cotswolds provide drinking water for much of the population
of south-east England.
CEO3
Fibre (e.g. timber, arable crops, wool) Historically, the Cotswolds has been an important producer
of wool and timber, and there are opportunities to develop local markets and innovative uses.
CEO2
Fuel (e.g. renewable energy) The Cotswolds provides good conditions for renewable energy
including hydro, solar and biomass and there is considerable scope for further development
of this resource, particularly woodfuel.
CEO3
Genetic diversity The “Cotswold Lion” local breed of sheep helps retain important genetic diversity
as well as contributing to local distinctiveness.
Regulating Services
Water purification and waste treatment Ecosystems can help in the filtering out and
decomposition of organic wastes introduced into water bodies and can also assimilate and detoxify
compounds through soil and sub-soil processes. The Cotswolds generally has good water quality,
although some rivers and ground-waters do not meet current standards of ‘good ecological status’.
CEO2
CEO3
Link to Plan
Objective/s
CEO3
Water flow and flood risk Healthy porous soils and vegetation, particularly woodlands, help to
regulate water flow and alleviate flooding in times of high and low rainfall. Action in the Cotswolds
to manage catchments can help reduce peak flood levels and sustain river flows during drought
periods.
CEO3
Disease and pest regulation Diseases and pests are regulated by natural factors such as predators
and climate, although additional interventions may be required. A healthy and diverse ecosystem
is less vulnerable to pests and disease.
CEO5
Pollination Pollination of crops is important for food supply. Most wildflowers are also dependent
on insect pollination, yet the numbers of wild and managed pollinators, such as bees, are in decline.
CEO3
Climate regulation and carbon storage Plants influence climate both locally and globally. Carbon
is absorbed from the atmosphere in farmland and woodlands and an important carbon store is
provided in the soils.
CEO2
CEO3
CEO5
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