Scottish natural capital: ecosystem service accounts 2019

This publication, prepared by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), presents estimates of the quantity and value of ten services being supplied by Scottish natural capital.

These services are: 

• agricultural biomass
• fish capture
• timber
• water abstraction
• mineral production
• oil and gas production
• renewable energy generation
• carbon sequestration
• air pollutant removal
• recreation

This article uses the term “ecosystem service” throughout, which generally refers to living (biotic) components of the Earth, which provide services to humanity. However, non-living (abiotic) components, such as oil and gas used for energy, are also included in this release. A summary of the main trends is presented in this article, but more information can be found in the datasets accompanying this release.