River Sesia heronries (2867)
Italy, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2002
National site name: Garzaie del Sesia
Central coordinates: Latitude: 45.4000, Longitude: 8.3833
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 143 to 162
Area of KBA (km2): 11.37617
Protected area coverage (%): 95.71
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site lies along the Sesia river and its tributaries, on the west Padana plain, north-west of the town of Vercelli. The main land-use is nature conservation. The site was listed in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989) as subsites 1-3 of the IBA `Heronries in the catchment of the upper Po and Sesia Rivers' (former site IT005).
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: The site includes four large mixed heronries: Garzaia di Carisio, Garzaia di Vettignè, Garzaia di Villarboit (Torrente Druma), and Garzaia di Oldenico/Parco Naturale Lame del Sesia.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (15%) | nature conservation and research (100%) | tourism/recreation (10%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 28 | |
| Shrubland | 18 | |
| Forest | 34 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 20 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threat is the change from `wet' to `dry' cultivation in the rice-fields around the sites.