Mandra-Poda complex (397)
Bulgaria, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1a, A1b, A1c, A1d, B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2005
National site name: Complex Mandra-Poda
Central coordinates: Latitude: 42.4167, Longitude: 27.3825
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 101
Area of KBA (km2): 59.87906
Protected area coverage (%): 99.59
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A dammed reservoir on the Black Sea coast, below which lies a brackish lagoon linked by an outlet to the sea, next to the town of Burgas. The open-water surface covers 1,300 ha, and is fringed by Phragmites, Typha, Juncus and Bolboschoenus. Along the shore, salt-tolerant vegetation is dominated by Puccinellia and Salicornia, and sand-dunes are overgrown with Leymus grass and Gypsophila. The lake is surrounded by wet meadows, marshes, arable land and areas of Paliurus scrub, with some forest of Quercus and Acer on the south bank.
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 complex is important for many bird species, notably for globally threatened species (e.g. Numenius tenuirostris, Oxyura leucocephala), breeding waterbirds (e.g. Platalea leucorodia, Recurvirostra avosetta), and wintering waterbirds. The site holds 20,000 or more waterbirds on a regular basis, and is also a notable migratory bottleneck site in autumn, where more than 3,000 raptors (notably Aquila pomarina) and up to 20,000 Ciconia ciconia pass overhead. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria while staging at the site: Pelecanus crispus, Aythya nyroca. Significant proportion (³1%) of national population breeding at site: Nycticorax nycticorax (28-30 pairs).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (2%) | fisheries/aquaculture (90%) | forestry (1%) | hunting (85%) | nature conservation and research (4%) | urban/industrial/transport (10%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 1 | |
| Grassland | 1 | |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 98 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Problems include illegal hunting in the protected area, mining of sand from sand-dunes, and chemical pollution of water. The management plan for Poda Lagoon Protected Landscape was prepared by BSPB under the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme, and BSPB manages this area.