Région Fouchal - Matarka (6496)
Morocco, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Région Fouchal - Matarka
Central coordinates: Latitude: 33.4122, Longitude: -2.3015
Elevation (m): 1060 to 1310
Area of KBA (km2): 3226.56273
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site is a large triangular area of plateau, its northern apex situated at the village of Al Fouchal some 25 km south of Aïn Beni Mathar, its south-western corner at the village of Matarka, and its eastern boundary formed by the Oujda–Figuig road. Vegetation consists mainly of arid tussock-grass Stipa tenacissima–Artemisia inculta steppe. There are several gueltas/temporary ponds (e.g. Guelta El Beida, Dayet Oum Slimane). The principal economic activity is extensive livestock-rearing.
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 CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Mediterranean Hotspot (2017). Taxonomy, nomenclature and global threat category follow the 2016 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Table 2 for key species. Approximately 100 species have been recorded, including Chlamydotis undulata and large flocks of sandgrouse (an estimated 100,000 Pterocles alchata were observed in December 1993). Five species of the Sahara–Sindian biome also occur (see Table 2). In December 1993, 73 wintering Charadrius morinellus were recorded in a small part of this vast site, leading to the suspicion that numbers of this cryptic, hard-to-census species may exceed the threshold for qualification as an IBA under the A4i criterion. Non-bird biodiversity: The mammal Gazella dorcas (LR/nt) occurs.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The site is unprotected. Threats include overgrazing and hunting.