Agri-environment schemes

Government programme set up to help farmers manage their land in an environmentally friendly way.

Ancient woodland

Areas of woodland that have been continuously wooded since at least 1600AD.

Biodiversity

The variety of life (abbreviation of biological diversity)

Biological Heritage Site (BHS)

Non-statutory (not controlled by law) wildlife sites of at least County significance within Lancashire.

Biosecurity

A set of precautions that aim to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms, such as insects, and disease-causing organisms (called pathogens) such as some bacteria and fungi.

Blanket bog

Normally in the uplands, it is an area of peatland* that forms where there is high rainfall allowing peat to develop not only in wet hollows but over large expanses of undulating ground. The blanketing of the ground with peat gives the habitat type its name.

Blue space

Our water environments: natural – such as rivers, lakes, streams and the sea, and built – such as marinas, canals and outdoor pools.

Brownfield sites

Previously developed land that is no longer being used. This includes disused industrial estates and factories. It does not include farmland.

Carbon capture

A process by which Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is absorbed and stored preventing its release into the atmosphere. Trees and peatland are natural carbon capture solutions.

Designated

Given a specific status e.g., the Forest of Bowland is designated a National Landscape (previously called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

Ecosystems

The complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all the interactions between them.

Equitable

Giving consideration to the needs of different population groups, so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the same outcome.

Flagship species

A flagship species is a species selected to act as an icon or symbol for a defined habitat, issue, campaign or environmental cause.

Green space

An area of grass, trees, or other vegetation set apart for example for recreational purposes in an otherwise urban environment.

Groundwater

Water that is found below the earth's surface in rocks and soil.

Habitats

A habitat is an environment inhabited by living organisms. There are a range of systems for classifying habitats into categories. This strategy uses the following broad categories:

· Aquatic & wetlands

· Coastal & estuarine

· Grasslands (including agricultural land)

· Lowland & upland peatland

· Rocky habitats

· Urban habitats

· Wooded habitats & trees.

Irreplaceable Habitat

Habitats that would be technically very difficult (or take a very significant time) to restore, recreate or replace once destroyed, taking into account their age, uniqueness, species diversity or rarity.

Examples listed in Biodiversity Net Gain legislation include:

  • ancient woodland,
  • ancient and veteran trees*,
  • blanket bog,
  • limestone pavement,
  • sand dunes,
  • salt marsh, and
  • lowland fen.

Limestone pavement

A natural karst landform (a landform worn away by water) consisting of a flat, cut into surface of exposed limestone that resembles a pavement.

Lowland fen

A water-logged habitat with wetland plants like reeds and rushes, often found in shallow valleys.

National Landscape

National Landscapes (designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) are on par with the UK’s National Parks, each is an outstanding landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty is safeguarded in the national interest.

Nature-based Solutions

Actions which support and draw on nature to provide wider environmental or societal benefits.

Peatland

A type of wetland whose soils consist of partially decaying plants, forming layers of peat.

Potential measures

Specific practical actions to achieve priorities.

Priorities (in the LNRS)

The end results that the strategy is seeking to achieve.

Semi-natural grasslands

Grasslands that exist as a result of human activity (e.g., mowing or livestock grazing), but where environmental conditions and the numbers of species are maintained by natural processes.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Nationally designated sites of special scientific interest. SSSIs are legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Species

A set of organisms in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and can breed with each other.

Target Species

Lancashire's most scarce, declining or most important species requiring bespoke actions beyond the more general habitat creation and enhancement measures.

Veteran tree

May not be very old, but they have significant decay features, such as branch death and hollowing. These features contribute to their biodiversity, cultural and heritage value. They are also considered statutory irreplaceable habitat. All ancient trees are veteran trees, but not all veteran trees are ancient.

Wetlands

Areas of land that are either permanently or seasonally flooded with water, supporting species that are adapted to live there. They play an important role in reducing flood risk and slowing the flow of water.

Wet woodland

Characterised by trees such as willows, birches and alder that thrive in poorly drained or seasonally flooded soils, such as in fens and bogs, pond and lakesides, riverbanks, and flushed hillsides.

Wood pasture

Land that has been managed through grazing. They can be ancient, or more recent but will contain trees growing in open pasture-land, often very old and are home to many rare and threatened species.