Integrating Natural Capital Accounting to Evaluate Nature-Based Solutions in Agricultural Landscapes

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised as effective and multifunctional approaches for addressing an array of environmental concerns in agricultural landscapes. However, their wider adoption remains constrained by limited integration of evidence at farm scale, and by the absence of transferable frameworks that support systematic assessment and decision making.

This contribution presents an integrated whole farm natural capital accounting framework for evaluating NbS performance in agricultural systems, developed within the EPA-funded FARM-NC (Farm-level Natural Capital) programme in Ireland. The framework combines high resolution spatial data, ecological field surveys, and water monitoring with spatial analysis and systems based modelling to quantify ecosystem services related to water regulation, flood and runoff attenuation, carbon storage, and habitat provision. Natural capital accounts are structured in alignment with international standards, including the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) and State-and-Transition models, enabling consistency, comparability, and scalability across sites.

The approach is applied across three small to medium sized farms representing diverse land use configurations and natural capital assets. Initial analyses focus on identifying NbS opportunities for enhancing hydrological resilience, including the role of semi-natural habitats, riparian features, and land-cover heterogeneity in influencing flow pathways and water retention.

By integrating biophysical assessment with economic and governance relevant metrics, this work advances the scientific basis for evaluating NbS at farm scale and supports their targeted placement and monitoring in agricultural landscapes. The framework provides a transferable foundation for informing agri-environmental policy, incentive mechanisms, and resilience planning, contributing to more sustainable land and water management under changing climatic conditions.