Abava valley (18956)
Latvia, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Abavas ieleja
Central coordinates: Latitude: 57.0423, Longitude: 22.7848
System: terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 141.576
Protected area coverage (%): 98.15
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site consists of the unregulated stretch of the Abava river valley from Kandava to the Venta river. It is covered by a vast chain of meanders and oxbows, with plenty of sand, sandstone and dolomite erosion banks. Slow stream stretches are interspersed with shallow stony rapids. Open farmland dominates in the upstream part, including natural flood-plain with meadows below Kandava, with a gradual change to mosaic landscape in the middle part and predominantly forested lower reaches. New IBA, listed for the first time here under the IBA C criteria. Almost fully protected: there is a 98.9% overlap with Abava valley nature park, a candidate SPA.
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
Land use: agriculture (50%) | forestry (30%) | hunting | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 46 | |
| Shrubland | 9 | |
| Grassland | 19 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 1 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 26 |