Brúará (531)
Iceland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2000
National site name: Brúará
Central coordinates: Latitude: 64.1333, Longitude: -20.5833
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 50 to 120
Area of KBA (km2): 19.55827
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: A wetland area, 20 km east of Lake Thingvallavatn, which comprises the Brúará river up to Brúarfoss and adjacent wetlands near the Hvítá river outlet (Selsflód, Reykjanes, Mosar, Skálholtstunga and Höfdaflatir). There are hot-springs at Reykjanes. Anglers fish along parts of the Brúará river.
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: An important area for breeding wildfowl and waders, especially Anser anser (also moulting, e.g. 550 at Höfdaflatir in 1983), as well as for staging geese and wintering Bucephala islandica (one of the few wintering sites away from Mývatn-Laxá (site 044).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | hunting | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Hunting causes disturbance to birds, and parts of the area are threatened with further drainage. Horse-grazing also poses a threat. The IBA is on the list of sites of conservation interest in the Nature Conservation Register. However, it is listed there as a number of individual sites: Brúará; Skálholtstunga and Mosar as one site; Selsflód; Höfdaflatir; and Reykjanes.