Duinen Ameland (1186)
Netherlands, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Duinen Ameland
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.4667, Longitude: 5.7500
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 15
Area of KBA (km2): 20.54336
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A 22-km long area of sand-dunes on the eastern side of this barrier island in the Wadden Sea (adjacent to site 001). The width of the dunes varies from 100 m (near the main village) to 1.5 km. Other habitats include saltmarshes (Neerlands Reid), sandflats (De Hon), and intertidal mudflats. The site does not include the villages, extensive touristic facilities, or the grassland polders that are intensively used for dairy farming. Land-uses include natural-gas extraction, groundwater abstraction, hunting (restricted to rabbits), and reed-harvesting. The area lies close to an airfield.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The raised saltmarshes are an important spring feeding area for Branta bernicla, and the area is also important as a high-tide roost for tens of thousands of waterbirds which feed in the Wadden Sea.
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture (8%) | forestry (5%) | hunting (100%) | nature conservation and research (20%) | tourism/recreation (58%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 45 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 11 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 45 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Threats include shellfish fisheries (Wadden Sea), gas extraction, disturbance by small aircraft (the local airfield was extended recently), reed-harvesting, and an increase in tourism (although part of the dune area is closed to the public during the breeding season). The dune area and the eastern part of the island are managed as Nature Reserves, although only small parts are actually owned by conservation bodies. The saltmarshes and mudflats are included in the SPA- and Ramsar-designated Wadden Sea.