User Guidance
Welcome to the R Shiny implementation of the Forestry England natural capital valuation tool.
To use the tool, fill in the site information data in tabs 2-9.
There are three options to get started:
- Manual entry – all values are set to default and you need to fill in all the data manually.
- Case study – this provides values from an example (Hole Farm, 2021). This is useful if you want to explore the tool for the first time. You can manually adjust the values in the different tabs.
- Upload .csv – you can re-upload all your data from a previous model run to save time (tab 9 has the option to download and save the .csv file you will need to upload).
When you have filled in all the data, you can run the model in tab ‘9 – Run Model’.
If you need to save your data to return to it another time, go to tab ‘9 – Run Model’ and download the inputs as a .csv file. You can then re-upload this data to work on it again.
Please note that your inputs will not be automatically saved. If you need to leave the page or your internet connection fails, you will lose your data. You are therefore advised to regularly download and save the inputs as a .csv file.
You can then click the Outputs option on the left-hand side of the tool to view the model results in graphical and tabular format.
In the Outputs section you can also download the results and generate a pdf report.
Enter Site Information
Please enter text for the name of the tool user, site name, and site reference.
The date is set to the current date by default, this can be manually changed.
Model Options
Please select the ecosystem services you wish to be included in the site valuation, the region of the site, the site context (rural-urban status) and the start and end years for which the calculations are conducted. The perpetuity value is calculated on the end year, a period of 50 years is recommended and set by default.
Land Cover Area and Condition
This page captures information about the different habitat types across the site. For each land use category in the tables, please enter data for the area (hectares) and condition for each scenario. The area data will be used to calculate the ecosystem service values of climate, timber and recreation. The condition information will be used to report on anticipated changes across different land uses.
Units for each Area should be given in Hectares (ha). Please ensure all Area values are equal. In the case where the woodland area is mixed, please seperate the area in to Broadleaved and Conifer woodland proportionately.
Land Cover Area
Priority Habitat Area
Please record the area of any Biodiversity Action Plan habitats here. These are sub-categories of the ‘Land Cover Area’ categories above. For example, a proportion of the ‘Other non-timber broadleaved woodland’ area reported in the table above may consist of the BAP habitat ‘Lowland mixed deciduous woodland’. This area should be counted in both tables. Non-BAP habitat area should not be recorded in this table.
Timber Production
This page captures information to calculate the timber value of alternative scenarios. You can input the anticipated timber annual increments and timber price for each scenario. If you do not know what the increments might be, regional averages are included by default.
Increments
Timber price
Select Valuation Method
This page captures information about the recreation value of alternative scenarios.
If you do have detailed estimates of visitor numbers for the different scenarios then you can use the manual option. Otherwise, we recommend using ORVal, which is an external tool that models the number and value of recreational visits based on a site’s habitats, surrounding access to green space, and distance from population centres. Full instructions are provided below.
Select your desired method.
ORVal Valuation
Step 1
Go to the Outdoor Recreation Valuation Tool (ORVal): https://www.leep.exeter.ac.uk/orval/ and navigate to the sites location.
If the site is already shown (i.e. the site is shaded by a colour) go to 2a.
If the site is not shown (i.e. the site boundary just shows as the background map) or if the site sits within a larger area go to 2b.
Step 2a
Click 'Explore Sites', then select by 'Sites', then click on the shaded area that covers the site being assessed.
From the 'Current Site Information' section on the left click on 'Welfare Values' and 'Estimated Visits' to reveal data.
For the Baseline scenario, input the revealed Welfare Values' and 'Estimated Visits' into the Table 2 below.
For additional scenarios click on 'Alter Sites', then 'Sites' and the 'Land Cover' drop down option. A table should appear to allow you to input new % for habitat cover in line with the Options under assessment, as shown in Table 1 below.
Once habitat data is complete select 'Submit' , the new 'Welfare Values' and 'Estimated Visits' values will appear , enter these into the associated Scenario column in Table 1.
Repeat this process for each new scenario.
Step 2b
Click 'Create Sites', then select by 'Area', then select 'Draw'. Draw the site (according to its boundaries) as it appears in the spatial plans for the options. To complete the site drawing, click back on the first point you drew. If the website is not allowing you to move the mouse or click properly, try zooming in and drawing the boundaries again.
After creating the new site click the 'Land Cover' drop down option. A table should appear to allow you to input new % for habitat cover in line with the Baseline. Enter the Habitat area change data from Table 2.
Once habitat data is complete select 'Submit' , the new 'Welfare Values' and 'Estimated Visits' values will appear , enter these into the associated Scenario column in Table 2.
Repeat this process for each new scenario.
Table 1 - Habitat area change data retrieved from section '3 - Land Cover' of the app, for entry into ORVal.
Table 2 - Recreation service data retrieved from ORVal.
Manual Valuation
If the ORVal values cannot be acquired for this site, or you have a specific reason for not using this value, please complete the table below.
Table 3 - Manual estimates of visitor numbers.
This page captures information about other important ecosystem services.
Food
Please enter any agricultural tenancy rent information for each scenario, if applicable.
Volunteering
Please enter data for the number of volunteering hours expected in year 1, and annually therafter.
Minerals
Please enter data for the value of extractable minerals for each scenario, if applicable.
Pollination
Pollinator habitat
Record the area of important pollinator habitat provided on the site for each scenario.
Local cropland cover
Record the percentage of the surrounding land (within a 3km radius of the site) that is cropland.
Local alternative pollinator habitat
Record the local availability (zero, low, medium or high) of alternative habitat within a 3km radius of the site.
Costs
Please record all site project costs in the table below. To add additional rows right click on the table and then click 'Insert row above', or 'Insert row below'.
Revenue
Please record any site project income/revenue that does not relate to the ecosystem services captured so far. For example, this might include income from grants but would not include income from timber production (as this is captured in the timber category). To add additional rows right click on the table and then click 'Insert row above', or 'Insert row below'.
There are a limited number of factors which are currently quantified in the Forestry England Natural Capital Valuation Tool. Please enter text below for each scenario, describing: the site objective, anticipated forest resilience, changes to the habitat condition, any impacts on biodiversity, any impacts on the landscape, and any other pertinent changes to the sites features such as heritage value.
Please use the markdown syntax for the text commentary, this will ensure the text is rendered correctly in the pdf report. The commentary for each scenario must be prefixed with three hashes and the scenario name with a paragraph break before the text begins. A simple template is provided by default, replace 'Insert text here' with your desired text and any other markdown syntax.