Sita and Pededze flood-plain (334)
Latvia, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2004
National site name: Sitas un Pededzes paliene
Central coordinates: Latitude: 57.1333, Longitude: 26.9833
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 80 to 120
Area of KBA (km2): 11.93163
Protected area coverage (%): 95.66
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Flood-plains of the Pededze and Sita rivers comprising significant areas of natural and regularly flooded meadows. Pededze is strongly meandering in its unregulated course, lined with many oxbows and scattered old Oak trees. The latter form a few rather dense park-like groups or small patches of wooded meadows. Listed as an IBA since 2000 [2, 1]. Almost fully protected: there is a 98.1% overlap with two newly designated specially protected areas and candidate SPAs, Sita and Pededze floodplain and Mugurve meadows. The gap between IBA and pSPA boundaries is mostly due to differences in methods in boundary setting.
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.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (50%) | forestry | hunting (70%) | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation (7%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Shrubland | 15 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 7 | |
| Grassland | 62 | |
| Forest | 15 |