Key Biodiversity Areas

Lake Hyoko (15054)
Japan, Asia

Site overview


KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Lake Hyoko
Central coordinates: Latitude: 37.8333, Longitude: 139.2333
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 5
Area of KBA (km2): 3.0813
Protected area coverage (%): 87.28
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes

Site details


Site description: Lake Hyoko in Niigata Prefecture was meant to be a farm pond. As the numbers of the wintering swans are increasing, it has been enlarged. It is Hyoko Suikin Koen (Hyoko Waterbirds Park) now and has an area of 30 ha. There are paddy fields around Hyoko where ducks and swans forage. The Aganogawa river flows at the southwestern direction of Hyoko, and Tundra Swans roost on a sandbar along the river. Nelumbo nucifera and Euryale ferox grow in the lake, and Phragmites australis extend at northeastern side of the lake. Prunus x yedoensis was planted around the lake, and hydrophites grow in Ayameike pond.
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.

Habitats


IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Wetlands(Inland)100

Threats


Threat level 1Threat level 2Threat level 3Timing
PollutionDomestic & urban waste waterType Unknown/UnrecordedOngoing