Southern Plateau: Furrus (6231)
Eritrea, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2011
National site name: Southern Plateau: Furrus
Central coordinates: Latitude: 15.0160, Longitude: 38.8780
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1800 to 2000
Area of KBA (km2): 32.26067
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site lies in the Central Plateau about 40 km south of Asmara and 12 km west of the town of Dekemhare. It also lies c.40 km north of Mareb escarpment (ER012) and contains similar habitat to that site, but lies at slightly higher altitude (1,800 m and over). It consists of open Acacia spp. woodland with Aloe sp. and Ficus sp. in riverine areas. During the rains, parts of the area become flooded.
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) KBA identified in the process of compiling the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the East Afromontane Hotspot. Species taxonomy and threat category was based on IUCN Red List 2010-4.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Table 2 for key species. There are possible records for the site of Circus macrourus, but these were not definitely distinguished from C. pygargus. There are also records of three Sahel biome species (Table 2), including a possible record of Streptopelia roseogrisea (although this may be a case of confusion with S. capicola: Zinner pers. comm.) and two Sudan–Guinea Savanna species, including one of only two site records for Myrmecocichla albifrons. There are also four species of the Somali–Masai biome recorded; see Table 2. The site is also important for a wide range of Afrotropical and migrant raptors, with records including Milvus migrans, Gyps rueppellii, Torgos tracheliotus, Circaetus gallicus, Melierax metabates, M. gabar, Buteo buteo, Aquila rapax / nipalensis, A. verreauxi, Lophaetus occipitalis, Falco biarmicus and F. tinnunculus. Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Delineation rationale: 2010-02-02 (BL Secretariat): site area was not defined in the original IBA publication/inventory; here, it has been derived by GIS from the draft polygon. 2011-12-06 (BL Secretariat): boundary changed and site extent increased from 1000 ha to 3200 ha, based on revised GIS polygon (rounded to nearest 10%), as part of CEPF East Afromontane Ecosystem Profiling process.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 16 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 83 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: No information.
Additional information
References: Zinner (in press).