Sebkhet Djendli (6168)
Algeria, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2010
National site name: Sebkhet Djendli
Central coordinates: Latitude: 35.7333, Longitude: 6.4667
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 825 to 825
Area of KBA (km2): 32.88874
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site lies about 13 km west of the small town of Boulehilet, north-east of Batna on the plateau between the coastal Petite Kabylie range of mountains to the north and the Massif de l’Aurès to the south. It is c.15 km south of Sebkhet Ez-Zemoul (site DZ012). The site consists of a shallow muddy basin and is defined by Morgan (1982) as a vegetated sebkhet, with unusually high salinity for this kind of wetland: it is dry for at least two months of the year. Vegetation includes a wide (up to 100 m) fringe of Salicornia sp. covering almost all the shoreline, some areas of Juncus sp. above the Salicornia fringe and scattered Ruppia sp. Non-intensive arable farmland, market gardens and low hills surround it to the north. There is extensive cattle- and sheep-grazing in the surrounding hills and some hunting on the site.
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. KBA identified by the 2010 CEPF Mediterranean Ecosystem Profile process. Taxonomy and nomenclature follow the 2008 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box for key species. The site is important for large numbers of wintering ducks and waders, with estimates of total numbers of ducks in winter 1991/92 exceeding 10,000 and 14,000–15,000. More than 20,000 total waterbirds have been recorded at the site (20,402 in 1992). More than 3,000 Phoenicopterus ruber were recorded in 1998 (see Box). In addition to Anas clypeata, the principal ducks are Tadorna tadorna (3,000), A. penelope (5,500), A. crecca (over 3,000), A. platyrhynchos (3,500) and A. acuta (3,000). Other species wintering in significant numbers include 4,000 Fulica atra, 300 Grus grus, 780 Recurvirostra avosetta and hundreds of small waders, especially Charadrius alexandrinus (see Box) and Calidris minuta. Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No information.
Additional information
References: Bellamy et al. (1990), Chown and Linsley (1994), Morgan (1982).