Quinchas Mountain Range (14425)
Colombia, South America

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1c, B2

Year of last assessment: 2023

National site name: Serranía de las Quinchas

Central coordinates: Latitude: 5.9905, Longitude: -74.1679

System: terrestrial, freshwater

Elevation (m): 200 to 1700

Area of KBA (km²): 1223.17949

Protected area coverage (%): 76.49

KBA classification: Global

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: The Serranía de las Quinchas is located on the western side of the middle valley of the Magdalena River, at the foothills of the Eastern Cordillera. It encompasses the municipalities of Puerto Boyacá and Otanche in Boyacá, Bolívar in Santander, and Yacopí in Cundinamarca. It is estimated that in the southern part of the Serranía, in Boyacá, there are about 40,000 hectares of natural vegetation, although the largest expanse of natural forests is found in Santander, in the Minero River basin. The vegetation comprises tropical humid forest in the low areas of the Serranía, on moderately steep terrain, and cloud sub-Andean forests on very steep mountains with inclinations of up to 60 degrees. This area is one of the last remnants of typical vegetation of the middle Magdalena, but it has suffered strong human pressure, especially the forests of the tropical region, due to agricultural activities (livestock and extensive crops), the introduction of illicit crops, poaching, indiscriminate logging, and even the construction of a gas pipeline that crosses the Serranía, modifying the original vegetation. In the upper part, although the pressure has been less, there is also a decrease in vegetation cover. The area has a bimodal tetra-seasonal rainfall regime, with rainier periods in the months of April-May and September-October. In addition, there is high relative humidity, especially towards the higher parts. Vegetation studies carried out in the south of the Serranía (Puerto Boyacá and Otanche) show that the tree vegetation is dominated by the Rubiaceae, Melastomataceae, Euphorbiaceae, Annonaceae, Moraceae, and Fabaceae families, with an average canopy height of 18 m. Sub-Andean region forests have a high incidence of epiphytes. The area is of great hydrological importance, as numerous streams originate, all corresponding to the Magdalena River basin. The Serranía de las Quinchas is not included in the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP), and there is only one private reserve called the El Paujil Natural Reserve. The latter is located in the municipality of Puerto Boyacá, in the district of Puerto Pinzón, on both banks of the El Ermitaño River, between the departments of Santander and Boyacá.

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. The species that triggere some KBA criteria were Cebus versicolor (A1a and A1c) and Dacnis hartlaubi (A1b and B2)

Additional biodiversity: The bird inventories carried out in the area (Stiles and Bohórquez 2000, Laverde et al. 2004, A. Quevedo, in litt.) have identified close to 368 species so far. The presence of several nationally and globally threatened species is noteworthy (Renjifo et al. 2002), including Crax alberti, Aburria aburri, Pionopsitta pyrilia, Capito hypoleucus, Phylloscartes lanyoni, Dacnis hartlaubi, and Habia gutturalis. Flocks (around 300 individuals) of Buteo swainsoni and B. platypterus in migration have also been recorded. The name "quinchas" alludes to an indigenous word meaning hummingbird; 29 species of quinchas have been identified in the area.

Manageability of the site: This KBA is managed by two Autonomous Regional Corporations. Those are the CAS (Corporación Autónoma Regional de Santander) and CORPOBOYACA (Corporación Autónoma Regional de Boyacá) due to this area it's present at two different departments in Colombia.

Delineation rationale: No new boundaries to this KBA were added.

Habitats

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Other	0.67
Artificial - Aquatic	1.96	Plantations
Forest	49.93	Forest – Subtropical/tropical moist montane
Shrubland	18.81
Grassland	27.93

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Around the Reserve there is strong human pressure. The settlers who inhabit the Quinchas mountain range mostly come from other regions of the country, many of whom arrived in the area due to potential oil exploitation, the proximity to emerald mines, and various socio-economic problems. Cattle ranching is the main livestock activity carried out in the area.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying		Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Agro-industry grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities		Ongoing

Additional information

References: BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Serranía de las Quinchas. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/serranía-de-las-quinchas-iba-colombia on 07/02/2024. Segura Gil, J. C., & Guerra Valle, O. Dinámicas de las coberturas de bosques del Parque Natural Regional Serranía de las Quinchas, a partir de estudios multitemporales mediante los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG).