Key Biodiversity Areas

Exe Estuary (2467)
United Kingdom, Europe

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Exe Estuary
Central coordinates: Latitude: 50.6447, Longitude: -3.4430
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 2
Area of KBA (km2): 25.94598
Protected area coverage (%): 90.39
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: A complex of habitats, extending over 10 km south from Exeter to the open sea at Dawlish Warren. Broad intertidal flats and grazing-marshes are the dominant habitats. Extensive mussel, eel-grass Zostera and algal beds and a sand-spit further increase the habitat diversity. The site is important for wintering and passage wildfowl and waders, and for breeding Cettia cetti.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)
Delineation rationale: First identified in 1989; extended in 2007. 2000 area, 2180ha. SPA boundary from JNCC at 1:10,000 scale; additional 2007 extensions estimated onto 1:50,000 and require detailed correction.

Habitats

Land use: fisheries/aquaculture | tourism/recreation
IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Grassland7
Wetlands(Inland)19
Marine Intertidal37
Marine Neritic37

Threats

Threat level 1Threat level 2Threat level 3Timing
Agriculture & aquacultureLivestock farming & ranchingSmall-holder grazing, ranching or farmingOngoing
Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesProblematic native species/diseasesUnspecified speciesOngoing
Natural system modificationsDams & water management/useAbstraction of ground water (agricultural use)Ongoing
Natural system modificationsOther ecosystem modificationsOngoing
Human intrusions & disturbanceRecreational activitiesOngoing