Plaine des Chicots - Plaine d'Affouches (6763)
Réunion (to France), Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1e, B2
Year of last assessment: 2018
National site name: Plaine des Chicots - Plaine d'Affouches
Central coordinates: Latitude: -20.9667, Longitude: 55.4500
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 410 to 2277
Area of KBA (km2): 47.80343
Protected area coverage (%): 99.99
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Situated in mountains to the north of La Réunion, the site is a plain sloping from the northern rim of the Cirque de Mafate northwards towards the town of Saint-Denis. A deep gorge formed by the Rivière Saint-Denis cuts into this plain, separating the Plaine des Chicots in the east from the Plaine d’Affouches in the west. The lower half (1,000–1,550 m) is covered by mixed montane forest, which is gradually replaced at higher altitude by forest dominated by the endemic Acacia heterophylla (‘tamarin des hauts’). Above 1,600 m, montane shrubland or bushland and thicket dominates, becoming very sparse near the summit of La Roche Ecrite (2,277 m). The trail across the Plaine des Chicots to La Roche Ecrite is much used for recreation. For many years the site has been stocked with exotic deer Cervus timorensis for hunting, and lower parts abutting the site (to the south) used for plantations of the exotic conifer Cryptomeria japonica.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. Alliance for Zero Extinction (2018): site confirmed as an AZE site during the AZE project (2015-2018). Taxonomy, nomenclature and Red List category follow the IUCN 2016 Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Table 2 for key species. The site is the only breeding area for Coracina newtoni (entire known population, 120–150 pairs) and supports populations of all the other native, forest-living birds of La Réunion, together with important colonies of Puffinus lherminieri. Up to five pairs of Circus maillardi were present in 1998. Non-bird biodiversity: Endemic plant communities: rich forest with many endemic plants. Lepidoptera: several endemic moth species. Reptiles: Phelsuma borbonica (endemic).
Delineation rationale: Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach.
Habitats
Land use: hunting | nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Alongside the ubiquitous threats associated with fire and exotic plant and animal species invasion, current threats of particular importance at this site are ‘traditional’ liming of forest passerines, and destruction of undergrowth (including native seedlings) by Cervus timorensis. The whole site was classified as a Nature Reserve in December 1999, and a management plan is being developed under the auspices of the ONF and Direction Régionale de l’Environnement de la Réunion. This will largely remove the threat from poaching, allow reduction in Cervus timorensis numbers, and provide for continuing monitoring (in progress since 1993) of the Coracina newtoni population. Cryptomeria has not been planted since the early 1980s and no further planting is planned.
Additional information
References: Anon. (1997), Anon. (1998), Attié (1994), Barré et al. (1996), Barré (1988), Cadet (1980), Cheke (1987b), Guillermet and Guillermet (1986), Probst (1993), Thiollay and Probst (1999).