Salaca valley (18962)
Latvia, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Salacas ieleja
Central coordinates: Latitude: 57.8367, Longitude: 24.7740
System: terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 61.31777
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site consists of the Salaca river valley with many sandstone cliff outcrops along its predominantly forested or forest-lined banks. The area also includes a mosaic of open farmland. New IBA, listed for the first time under the IBA C criteria. Almost fully protected: there is a 98.3% overlap with Salaca valley nature park, a candidate SPA. The gap between IBA and pSPA boundaries is mostly due to differences in methods in boundary setting.
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 (7%) | fisheries/aquaculture | forestry (50%) | tourism/recreation (100%) | urban/industrial/transport (21%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 1 | |
| Forest | 54 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 34 | |
| Shrubland | 9 | |
| Grassland | 2 |