Solent Marshes and Southampton Water (2601)
United Kingdom, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Solent Marshes and Southampton Water
Central coordinates: Latitude: 50.8122, Longitude: -1.3065
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 15
Area of KBA (km2): 56.33523
Protected area coverage (%): 99.99
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: This site comprises the estuaries, saltmarshes and mudflats around Southampton Water and the western Solent, including habitats on both the mainland and the Isle of Wight. The mudflats support beds of algae and eel-grass Zostera. Shingle and both neutral and calcareous grassland vegetation communities exist within the IBA. It IBA is important for breeding terns, gulls and waterbirds and for wintering wildfowl and waders.
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.
Delineation rationale: First identified in 1989 as West Solent Marshes and Southampton Water; renamed in 1992 to Southampton Water and Solent Marshes; renamed again in 2007, and site extended to cover the SPA and Dibden Bay. 2000 area overestimated as 6000ha. SPA boundary used from JNCC; digitised at 1:10,000 scale. Additional area added on 1:50,000 maps.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation | urban/industrial/transport
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Neritic | 43 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 5 | |
| Grassland | 5 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 43 | |
| Forest | 5 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Small dams | Only in the future |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Tourism & recreation areas | Ongoing | |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing | |
| Transportation & service corridors | Shipping lanes | Only in the future | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Ongoing |