Venice lagoon (2739)
Italy, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2002
National site name: Laguna di Venezia
Central coordinates: Latitude: 45.3667, Longitude: 12.4667
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 1
Area of KBA (km2): 691.88897
Protected area coverage (%): 77.95
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: An extensive brackish coastal lagoon along the eastern coast of the northern Adriatic Sea, between the mouths of the Brenta and Piave rivers. Three large, open water-bodies form the actual lagoon, surrounded by a chain of smaller, closed lagoons (called `valli') of lower salinity. The bottoms of the large water-bodies are covered by eel-grass Zostera and Ruppia. There are tidal mudflats with sea-lettuce Ulva and Enteromorpha, and cord-grass Spartina is locally common. The surrounding areas are largely cultivated intensively (mainly maize). Main land-uses are fish-farming, aquaculture and hunting inside the `valli', and tourism.
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: A very important site for more than 100,000 wintering waterbirds (Fulica atra and Calidris alpina are particularly common), for breeding herons, and for post-breeding terns which collect to roost here in large numbers from all over the eastern Adriatic Sea (especially Sterna albifrons and Chlidonias niger, which form their largest concentrations in Europe here). The maximum total number of wintering waterbirds in January was 74,642 in 1993 and 100,048 in 1994.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (5%) | fisheries/aquaculture (30%) | hunting (20%) | nature conservation and research (5%) | tourism/recreation (5%) | urban/industrial/transport (10%) | water management (30%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 1 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 72 | |
| Marine Oceanic | 13 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 14 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threats are posed by natural erosion, by increasing industrial activities, by increasing water pollution from agriculture and from the industrial area of Porto Marghera, and by disturbance to birds caused mainly by tourism and hunting. Only a small part of the lagoon (Valle Averto) is a Special Protection Area. Numerous small wildlife reserves were created in the 1990s by the provincial authority (Provincia di Venezia), following the national hunting law of 1991 that obliges a certain percentage of the provincial territory to be closed to hunting. Some or all of the site is covered by a management plan.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Subsistence/artisinal aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target) | Only in the future |
| Pollution | Excess energy | Light pollution | Only in the past and unlikely to return |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Named species | Ongoing |
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Large dams | Ongoing |
| Residential & commercial development | Commercial & industrial areas | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Natural system modifications | Other ecosystem modifications | Ongoing | |
| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Ongoing |