Évora plains (384)
Portugal, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2002
National site name: Planície de Évora
Central coordinates: Latitude: 38.4833, Longitude: -7.8833
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 220 to 270
Area of KBA (km2): 531.2938
Protected area coverage (%): 27.18
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Open agricultural land used for cereals (mainly wheat) and other crops in rotation such as melon, sunflower and beans. There is sparse evergreen woodland of oak Quercus ilex and cork oak Q. suber. Fallow land is used for grazing sheep and cattle.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)
Additional biodiversity: The site supports good numbers of breeding birds of steppic habitats, and is important for wintering Grus grus. Besides of species in species list, 10 breeding pairs of Circus pygargus and some Burhinus oedicnemus are present.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (70%) | forestry (30%) | hunting
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 70 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The main threats are illegal hunting, Birds are disturbed by the increasing road-traffic. Current habitats, favourable for steppic birds, are maintained by the traditional farming system based on non-intensive cultivation of cereals, but the weakness of the rural economy might lead farmers to change land-uses.