Ticino river (2841)
Italy, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2002
National site name: Fiume Ticino
Central coordinates: Latitude: 45.5500, Longitude: 8.8500
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 60 to 350
Area of KBA (km2): 285.97268
Protected area coverage (%): 91.77
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A lowland wooded area on the west Padana plain, with small freshwater wetlands and cultivated areas, along the valley of the Ticino river, a tributary of the River Po. The main land-uses are agriculture, nature conservation and recreational activities.
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.
Additional biodiversity: There are three main heronries: Cascina Portalupa, La Zelata and San Massimo, all of which were listed in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989) as subsites 3-5 of the former site IT023, `Heronries close to Pavia and the catchment of the Fiume Ticino'. Counts for Nycticorax nycticorax and Egretta garzetta refer to the period 1990-1995.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (15%) | fisheries/aquaculture (3%) | forestry (20%) | hunting (30%) | military (1%) | nature conservation and research (100%) | tourism/recreation (30%) | urban/industrial/transport (5%) | water management (5%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Intertidal | 4 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 44 | |
| Forest | 41 | |
| Other | 6 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 5 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threats are from agricultural intensification, industrialization and urbanization. All of the site is covered by a management plan. At Parco del Ticino, a project to reintroduce Eurasian otter Lutra lutra, roe deer Capreolus capreolus and European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (globally near-threatened) is ongoing, and there are censuses of wintering ducks and Phalacrocorax carbo, and of breeding herons.