Key Biodiversity Areas

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Cerro Plateado (100338)
Ecuador, South America

Site overview


KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1aA1bA1eB2
Year of last assessment: 2023
National site name: Cerro Plateado
Central coordinates: Latitude: -4.5714, Longitude: -78.7781
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1100 to 2800
Area of KBA (km2): 307.38979
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No

Site details


Site description: This KBA is a national protected area under the category of Biological Reserve. Located in the Nangaritza region were the endemic species of the unique andean ridge top forest from the southern Amazon shared with Peru are present. Altitude: 1100 - 2800 m. The unique landscapes and ecosystems are the montane, low montane evergreen forest on sandstone plateaus and hills of the Cóndor and Condór-Kutukú mountain ranges and the evergreen shrubland and montane grasslands of the Cóndor mountain range.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least two criteria described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs (A1a, A1b and B2). Range restricted, threatened of extinction and endemic speices of the rare ecosystems of the Cóndor and Cóndor-Kutukú, such as: Amphibians: Excidobates condor, Pristimantis condor, Pristimantis muranunka, Pristimantis yantzaza, Callimedusa ecuatoriana and Noblella lochites. Birds: Henicorhina leucoptera, Megascops petersoni and Scytalopus micropterus.
Additional biodiversity: Panthera onca, Tremarctos ornatus, Heliangelus regalis.
Manageability of the site: This is a national protected area administrated by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador (MAATE)
Supersedes another site: Bosque Protector Alto Nangaritza (14634).
Delineation rationale: This KBA follows the official limits as a natural protected area designated by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE) On south and southeast the borders with Peru. On north and west the KBA named Alto Nangaritza - Maycu and on southwest the hills and mountain chains of the southern Amazon.

Habitats


IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Forest95Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane

Threats


Threat level 1Threat level 2Threat level 3Timing
Biological resource useLogging & wood harvestingUnintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]Ongoing
Energy production & miningMining & quarryingIn the past but now suspended and likely to return

Additional information


Contributors: Niels Krabbe (ornithological information) QCAZ-Herpetofauna from Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL)