Moricsala and Viskuzu sala (18972)
Latvia, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Moricsala un Viskuzu sala
Central coordinates: Latitude: 57.1887, Longitude: 22.1338
System: terrestrial
Area of KBA (km2): 11.3752
Protected area coverage (%): 96.00
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site consists of the three largest islands in Usma lake, covering about a quarter of its area. Moricsala island (83 ha; protected since 1912) is covered by an old-growth deciduous forest, Viskuzu island (309 ha) holds mostly coniferous forest. Part of the IBA was first listed in 1994 [1], now it qualifies under the IBA C criteria. Fully protected: there is a 97.2% overlap with Moricsala nature reserve and the newly designated Viskuzu island restricted nature reserve, both candidate SPAs. The gap between IBA and pSPA boundaries is due to differences in methods of 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 | forestry | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 61 | |
| Shrubland | 1 | |
| Forest | 37 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 1 |