Kuantu (14271)
Taiwan, China, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2001
National site name: Kuantu
Central coordinates: Latitude: 25.1167, Longitude: 121.4500
System: freshwater, marine, terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 1.91661
Protected area coverage (%): 24.62
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Extent of this site: situated in the southwest portion of the Kuantu plain, at the confluence of the Keelung and Tanshui Rivers, to the northwest of Taipei city. This site is about 8-10 km from the mouth of the Tanshui R. so it is tidally influenced. Along the shore of the Keelung R. is a levee, and outside the levee are mainly marshy landforms, mud flats, and tidal channels. Important plants include Kandelia Kandelia candel, Cyperus malaccensis, and Common Reed Phragmites comunis, with the mangrove forming the dominant vegetation, occupying 19 ha. About 55-ha land within the levee contain mostly freshwater and slightly brackish ponds, marshes, wet paddies, irrigation canals, and spoil dirt piles. Passing typhoons with torrential rains cause the flooding areas of the Kuantu Nature Park to increase in size. Here, benthic organisms are abundant, and form a suitable habitat for waterbirds, so the bird situation is excellent. According to the opinion of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, migrating birds seem to be stopping here for longer periods than in the past due to the rich nutrients in the wet areas of the Kuantu Nature Park, and perhaps, many waterbirds eventually will overwinter here. Kuantu’s old name was Gandou (pole bean) which is what the aboriginals used to call it; later it became today’s Kuantu, a name with almost the same pronunciation.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: IBA A4iii criterion species: Green-winged Teal with a maximum number of 10,000 birds. • A total of 293 species have been recorded here, including the Oriental White Stork, (max. 6 birds), Black-faced Spoonbill, Chinese Egret, Lesser White-fronted Goose and Swan Goose. Non-bird biodiversity: • South of the tidal levee on the Keelung R. there is a mangrove ecosystem. The main aquatic plants are Cyperus malaccensis, Common Reed Phragmites communis, and Kandelia Kandelia candel. After 1978, the mangrove, Kandelia, became the dominant plant species. The north side ranges from aquatic and wetland to agricultural ecology.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (82%) | not utilised (13%) | urban/industrial/transport (5%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 25 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 25 | |
| Forest | 25 | |
| Marine Neritic | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: • Municipal wastewater from Taipei runs into the Tanshui River, with pollution, including high metals content, leading to eutrophication of the river. • Because gravel and groundwater have been taken from the river and area for many years, there is a serious risk of subsidence, with the resultant salinization by ingress of seawater, causing rapid expansion of the area of the mangrove; the original cover was exposed mudflats, so the ecological balance has been stressed. • The sandy areas of the mangroves are becoming terrestrial. • Spoil dirt is illegally dumped here. • There is a problem with feral dogs. • There are large crowds who come for recreation and tourism.
Additional information
References: • Lin, Y. S. et al. 1988. Detailed Plan for the Kuantu Nature Park. Bureau of Reconstruction, Taipei City Government and Wild Bird Society of Taipei. • Kuo, D. R. and F. R. Lin. 1992. Bird investigation of the wetlands along the Tanshui River (1). WBFT Bird Conservation Research Series, No. 1. • Kuo, D. R. and F. R. Lin. 1993. Bird investigation of the wetlands along the Tanshui River (2). WBFT Bird conservation Research Series, No. 5. • Lin, M. C. 1994. Relationship between Landscape Evolution and Bird Flock Dynamic. Master Thesis, Biology Institute, Furen University. • Wetlands Conservation Workgroup. 1994. 1994 Planning examples of environmentally sensitive areas at the coast of Taiwan- bird, mangrove, and wetland investigations. Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. • Chang. Y.S. and M. Li. 1995. Introduction of the six largest wetlands in Taiwan. The Voice of Taiwan’s Wildlife (10): 10-11. • Lin, P. P 1995. Affects of Landscape Evolution on Bird Population Structure at the Kuantu Nature Park. Master Thesis, Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University. • WBFT 1996. Bird investigation of the wetlands along the Tanshui River (3). WBFT Conservation Series, No. 14. • WBFT 1996. Bird investigation of the wetlands along the Tanshui River (4). WBFT Conservation Series, No. 14. • Gao, C. Y. and P. B. Li. 1997. Bird investigation of the wetlands along the Tanshui River (5). Wild Bird Society of Taipei. • Chiu, W. Y. and W. L. Chang. 1998. Classification and assessment of the water quality salinization and the eutrophication at the Kuantu wetland. Proceedings of the Fourth Coastal Wetland Ecology and Conservation Conference, WBFT. • Shao, G. C. 1999. Final research report on the dynamic of the biological resources at the Kuantu Nature Reserve and Nature Park. Bureau of Reconstruction, Taipei City Government. • Kuantu Nature Reserve: http://ten.yam.org.tw/ntu/ntul2.hnm. Compilers Woei-horng Fung, Ming-liang Chiang