Montecristo (20377)
Guatemala, Central America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B1
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Montecristo
Central coordinates: Latitude: 14.4883, Longitude: -89.3775
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 700 to 2300
Area of KBA (km2): 220.49251
Protected area coverage (%): 99.71
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Montecristo is a mountain range divided by the border between Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, ranging in elevation from 700 to 2300 m.
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.
Additional biodiversity: IBA Montecristo is important for biome-restricted birds of the Madrean Highlands, including a population of the globally threatened Highland Guan (Penelopina nigra). The site is expected to be important for a large number of species restricted to the North Central American Highlands, based on data from the El Salvadoran part (Komar 2000, 2002). Because of data deficiency the Guatemalan part does currently not apply under the criterion of importance for range-restricted species. Little ornithological research has been carried out in Guatemala (Herrera et al. 1998, Eisermann 2006).
Habitats
Summary of habitats in KBA: Forest cover has been reduced to 39% of the IBA, and 60% are used for agriculture. Coffee plantations cover 31% of the IBA, corn fields 10%, and secondary growth scrub 19% (MAGA 2006). Plane areas among the hilly landscape are used for cattle farming (Eisermann 2006).
Land use: agriculture (60%) | forestry | hunting | nature conservation and research (100%) | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport (1%) | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 42 | |
| Shrubland | 19 | |
| Forest | 39 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The establishment of coffee plantations up to an elevation of 1700 m caused an extensive loss of habitat for species like Highland Guan, which is now considered threatened. The cultivation of Beaucarnea sp. (Liliaceae) has been introduced to the area around the year 2000, which caused an additional loss of cloud forests up to an elevation of 1900 m (Eisermann 2006). Even the highest and most remote forests are therefore threatened by fragmentation and forest fires. The Biosphere Reserve is not appropriately managed to protect natural habitat.
Additional information
References: CONAP. 2007. Lista de áreas protegidas inscritas en el SIGAP. Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), Guatemala. (Database accessed in June 2007) Eisermann, K. 2006. Evaluación de la avifauna en las partes que formarán el área protegida trinacional de Montecristo en territorio guatemalteco y hondureño. In Komar, O. (ed.) Evaluación ecológica rápida en la propuesta área protegida trinacional Montecristo en territorio guatemalteco y hondureño. SalvaNatura, San Salvador, El Salvador. Online at: www.sica.int/busqueda/Proyectos.aspx?IDItem=5208&IDCat=23&IdEnt=140&Idm=1&IdmStyle=1 Herrera, N., R. Ibarra Portillo & R. Rivera. 1998. Estudio de la fauna vertebrada en la reserva La Fraternidad (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras). Informe de consultoría. Fundación para la Conservación de los Ecosistemas Mayas, Guatemala. (Unpublished report). Komar, O. 2000. Lista de aves del Parque Nacional Montecristo, El Salvador. SalvaNatura, San Salvador, El Salvador. Komar, O. 2002. Birds of Montecristo National Park, El Salvador. Ornitol. Neotrop. 13: 167-193. MAGA. 2006. Mapa de cobertura vegetal y uso de la tierra a escala 1:50,000 de la República de Guatemala, Año 2003 (Incluye 5 cultivos perennes actualizados al año 2005). Memoria técnica y descripción de resultados. Ministerio de Agricultura Ganadería y Alimentación –MAGA– / Unidad de Planificación Geográfica y Gestión de Riesgo –UPGGR–, Guatemala Ciudad, Guatemala.
Contributors: The Museum of Natural History Jorge Ibarra, hosted a workshop in Guatemala City in June 2006. This first assessment of IBAs in Guatemala was conducted by Sociedad Guatemalteca de Ornitología and BirdLife International in the Americas.