Torotorofotsy Wetlands (6574)
Madagascar, Africa

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2014

National site name: Zones humides de Torotorofotsy

Central coordinates: Latitude: -18.8667, Longitude: 48.3500

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 925 to 1038

Area of KBA (km²): 65.25536

Protected area coverage (%): 95.11

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Torotorofotsy is the largest and most intact natural marsh in eastern Madagascar. It is located c.7 km north-west of Andasibe, being delimited in the west by the Angavo river and in the east by the Betsimisaraka escarpment. The marsh lies in a basin, elongated along a north-east–south-west axis, and has an indented boundary. It is surrounded by convex hills, with three isolated hillocks in its centre. The Sahaparasy river flows across the marsh. Seventy percent of the site’s area is covered by marshy grassland, with permanently waterlogged and peaty soils in the basin, dominated by spike-rushes Eleocharis (80 cm to 1 m high), ferns Osmunda, sedges Cyperus and lianoid sedges Scleria (2–3 m high). At the basin overflow and along the western edge there is marshy forest, with abundant screw-pines Pandanus, palms Vonitra and Voacanga trees, while the whole marsh is surrounded by degraded humid evergreen forest (dominated by secondary species such as Harungana and Dichaetanthera) and wooded savanna. The marsh has poor fish-stocks (the water being relatively acid and nutrient-poor), and fishing is not a significant activity.

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 Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands Hotspot (2014). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.

Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Sixty-nine species are known from the site, of which 33 are endemic to Madagascar. Torotorofotsy is one of the two sites currently known for Sarothrura watersi, and Anas melleri probably breeds at the site.

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | not utilised

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Wetlands(Inland)	50
Forest	50

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Threats to the site and its neighbourhood include exploitation for firewood, slash-and-burn cultivation, and collection of leaves from marsh plants for basketwork. In the past, marsh areas were converted to rice-fields.

Additional information