Nissum Fjord (2957)
Denmark, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2000
National site name: Nissum Fjord
Central coordinates: Latitude: 56.3500, Longitude: 8.2333
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 7
Area of KBA (km2): 112.27999
Protected area coverage (%): 97.64
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A shallow brackish fjord connected by sluices to the North Sea, with coastal saltmarshes and reedbeds, and heathland vegetation on Fjandø Island.
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: This is an important staging area for Cygnus cygnus, C. columbianus, Anser brachyrhynchus and Limosa lapponica; however, numbers of most winter and passage visitors have declined (since the 1980s) to below 20,000 birds in total, due to nutrient pollution. Also a disease affecting the formerly extensive areas of eel-grass Zostera has affected foraging, especially for swans Cygnus and Branta bernicla. Several species listed on Annex I of the EC Birds Directive breed at the site, including Botaurus stellaris, Circus aeruginosus, Recurvirostra avosetta, Philomachus pugnax, Sterna sandvicensis, S. hirundo, S. paradisaea and S. albifrons.
Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (30%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 11 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 21 | |
| Marine Neritic | 11 | |
| Marine Intertidal | 21 | |
| Shrubland | 11 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Several parts of the IBA are afforded protection through entry, hunting and boating restrictions. Reduced grazing of saltmarshes is detrimentally affecting this habitat for birds, and renewed grazing is planned in some state-owned parts of the site.