What plans will I be supported in creating through Nature, Risk and Resilience Reporting?
What plans will I be supported in creating through Nature, Risk and Resilience Reporting?
The “Baseline Habitat Assessment” represents the current habitats, and the “Land Management Plan” provides a way for you to map out and communicate your future plans for your land, which could be realised over the next 2-30 years (please note that not all projects support the creation of a Land Management Plan).
The two UKHab Plans (Baseline Habitat Assessment and Land Management Plan) allow Land App to generate a bespoke report for your farm. This report provides you with in-depth insights on your farm’s resilience, nature impacts, and risks. These insights can help guide your future management to increase the sustainability of your farm business and help you to access new opportunities.
What does an “ideal map” look like for Nature, Risk and Resilience Reporting?
What does an “ideal map” look like for Nature, Risk and Resilience Reporting?
To complete your submission through the Nature Reporting tool, your map must include:
A completed Baseline Habitat Assessment to Level 3 (where possible) of the UKHabitat Classification (learn more here).
This provides an accurate map of the land and habitats you currently manage and provides a useful resource for planning future management and decision-making.
It also provides an easy way for you to share a detailed overview of your farm with anyone you work with.
A Baseline Habitat Assessment is many people's first step to understanding and reviewing what to do and where. This includes evaluating where certain agri-environment options may be appropriate and where environmental markets (such as Biodiversity Net Gain) may provide an opportunity.
Your map is likely to include:
A Land Management Plan that shows the future possible state of your farm.
This provides your farm with a single location to plan changes you may make in the future and where.
It can help provide a plan to share and discuss with your farm team, advisors, and funders.
It can also support which grant options you may consider in future allowing you to make informed and forward-thinking decisions about your agri-environment options.
How are hedges represented in Nature Reporting?
How are hedges represented in Nature Reporting?
Hedges are valuable natural assets within the farmed landscape; they provide habitat connectivity, resources for wildlife (such as shelter and food) and other benefits such as carbon capture and flood mitigation. However, not all hedges are equal.
For Nature Reporting, we follow the guidance set out under the UKHabitat Classification. This means all hedges can be drawn a "linear features" and assigned the relevant hedgerow code (e.g. "h2"). These hedges have their length summed in Nature Reporting to display a "total hedge length (km)" metric.
For hedges to contribute to the wider pool of metrics, such as connectedness score, or habitat cover, they must meet the following criteria;
Be over 25m2 in area (e.g. 1m wide and at least 25m length).
AND they must be mapped as "area" features (e.g. turned into a polygon feature). This can be done by using the "Buffer" tool on any lengths that meet this requirement (guidance), and assigned the relevant UKHab polygon code (e.g. h3 - Dense scrub).
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What should you do if you already have a baseline on Land App?
What should you do if you already have a baseline on Land App?
If you already have a baseline for your farm, you can share the maps directly through the Nature Reporting system, provided it is using the "Baseline Habitat Assessment (v2)" template.
If you have had maps created for you on your behalf, we recommend contacting the creator who will be able to grant you access to the maps. These maps can provide a useful starting point for Nature Reporting.
If you have created maps in a different software, we recommend exporting the maps and importing them into Land App (importing guidance here). If you would like help with this, the Land App team will be happy to support you through the in app chat.
What types of interventions are we looking to promote in the Land Management Plans for Nature Reporting?
What types of interventions are we looking to promote in the Land Management Plans for Nature Reporting?
Input reduction - reduced reliance on inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides
Soil protection - cover crops, temporary leys
Wind protection - agroforestry, shelterbelts, hedgerows
Habitat diversification - diverse swards, diverse margins, diverse crop rotations
Water protection - buffering water courses, continuous green cover
Flood protection - temporary ponds / scrapes, cross-slope vegetation (buffers, margins, hedgerows)
Pollinator habitat creation - traditional orchards, lenient hedgerow managemen
Why do my metrics sometimes change/ how often do they update?
Why do my metrics sometimes change/ how often do they update?
If you (or any editors) have made changes to either your Baseline Habitat Assessment or your Land Management Plan, this will change your scores within a 24 hour window.
As Land App is using live data sources (such a "floodzones" as a reference) and calculations, this means some metrics change from time to time as this update. These should only be minor changes, but if you have a specific instance that you would like us to look into, please reach out to support@thelandapp.com