Southern Seewinkel and Zitzmannsdorfer Wiesen (3205)
Austria, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2009
National site name: Südlicher Seewinkel und Zitzmannsdorfer Wiesen
Central coordinates: Latitude: 47.7500, Longitude: 16.8333
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 117 to 124
Area of KBA (km2): 131.75027
Protected area coverage (%): 97.41
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Seewinkel is part of the `Small Hungarian Plain'. The area is characterized by about 45 small shallow saline lakes with seasonally fluctuating water-levels. These are found within a landscape of wet meadows, hay-meadows, reedbeds (Phragmites), dry pastures, arable land, vineyards and small patches of woodland. The Zitzmannsdorfer Wiesen are a large area of continuous wet meadows between the villages of Weiden and Podersdorf.
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 area for migrating and breeding wildfowl and waders in wet meadows and saline lakes.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (70%) | nature conservation and research (25%) | tourism/recreation (5%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 30 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 15 | |
| Forest | 5 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threats to the Seewinkel are from groundwater abstraction and intensive agriculture, particularly the use of fertilizers and pesticides. An increasing area of arable land is being put into set-aside and remaining pastures are extensively managed by the National Park. A variety of research and conservation projects have been undertaken.