R scripts for metric calculation, arthropod data and associated spatial files to run analysis for pollinator and predator natural capital accounts for an example de-identified farm (Farm YQ).

Full description

The demand for information about property-scale natural capital is growing rapidly as producers and supply chains respond to opportunities and pressures to report environmental performance information. Farm-scale Natural Capital Accounts (FsNCA) measure and report on natural capital and environmental performance at the farm-scale and may address a critical gap in sustainability reporting and the promotion of sustainable farm practices. Here, we outline the framework, methods and models to quantify on-farm natural capital and ecosystem services that support agricultural production. The accounts are outcomes-based, data-driven, transparent, and repeatable. They are coherent with the UN System of Environmental Economic Accounting and contain verifiable information about the extent and condition of natural capital assets (e.g. soil, vegetation, biodiversity), ecosystem services (e.g., forage, carbon sequestration, pollination, decomposition, soil regulation, shade and shelter) and environmental performance (for the entire farm and per unit of production).

Our approach integrates farm operational and production data (inputs and outputs), remote sensed imagery and data, ecological modelling and state and transition models to generate comprehensive farm-scale natural capital accounts that include biodiversity values, a range of ecosystem service accounts, and environmental performance metrics. We have demonstrated the practicality of our approach by generating farm-scale accounts for 50 farms in south-eastern Australia. The accounts are underpinned by ecological models, built from empirical (field-tested) data, of the relationship between natural capital and various measures of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The accounts provide farmers with detailed information to improve their management of natural capital and leverage that for improved production (by exploiting ecosystem services provided by natural capital) and business outcomes (e.g., market access, sustainability reporting obligations, price premiums). Simultaneously, the accounts provide the agricultural supply-chain with verifiable information on the environmental performance of farming entities, thus overcoming ‘greenwashing’ claims of companies and retailers.