NATURAL CAPITAL
NAVIGATING THE VALUE OF
NATURAL CAPITAL The sale of 1200 acres of stunning Inverness-shire land rich in natural resources and amenity provides a fascinating test of the market for natural capital, says Jon Lambert at Goldcrest Land and Forestry Group.
S
addle Hill offers glorious Caledonian pine with further tree planting potential, ecologically rich heather moorland, deep peat needing restoration, rewilding opportunities and beautiful amenity. A well-designed Caledonian pine scheme planted to imitate natural forest in 1999 and 2003 is now well-established and the pines will continue to enhance the landscape and improve habitat diversity, subject to appropriate management. Home to red and black grouse, golden plover, lapwing, pipits, skylarks, birds of prey and roe and red deer, Saddle Hill offers wonderful amenity with stunning views north to the Beauly Firth and Ben Wyvis, three burns and a lochan. Mr Lambert says: “Much of the current discussion in the rural land markets revolves around carbon capture, environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) responsibilities, sustainability, carbon credits, net-zero aspirations, peatland restoration and afforestation. With this in mind, it will be interesting to see the strength of appetite for land which is both rich in natural capital assets and opportunities for improvement. Mr Lambert adds: “We expect this to appeal to investors trying to fulfil ESG criteria. Saddle Hill ticks a lot of boxes for the environmentally focused buyer and offers fantastic scope to further enhance a stunning landscape. It is already attracting considerable interest on that basis.” However, he says, it is still challenging to convert all this into financial terms. A mature timber crop or a field supporting a flock of sheep or herd of cattle is quantifiable but natural capital is a much more
nebulous concept. This is where land mapping specialists Natural Capital Research offered a solution. They use cutting edge modelling and highresolution data to assess the natural capital provided by landholdings, focussing on assets such as landcover, soils, water and wetlands to assess flows of services such as carbon storage, carbon sequestration, soil erosion protection, flood risk management, biodiversity and recreation. According to a study carried out by Natural Capital Research, Saddle Hill, seven miles east of Inverness, offers considerable potential for a land management programme designed to enhance the natural resources on site.
32 FORESTRY & TIMBER NEWS • August 2021
The Saddle Hill report shows the existing assets are predominantly comprised of 350 ha of native Caledonian Pine moorland scheme, 118 ha of dwarf shrub heath and 20 ha of bog. A small area of conifer plantation remains on the site. Based on modelling using canopy height, satellite observation and other variables, the existing carbon storage at Saddle Hill is an estimated 282,900 tCO2e or 579 tCO2e per hectare. This lies principally in the topsoil, (279,750 tCO2e), woodland (2,143 tCO2e) and heath (870 tCO2e). The estimated carbon sequestration is 95 tCO2e/yr, largely in the woodlands, with the highest sequestration rate taking place in the younger trees.
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