Bahram-e-Gour Protected Area (8142)
Iran, Islamic Republic of, Middle East
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 1994
National site name: Bahram-e-Gour Protected Area
Central coordinates: Latitude: 29.0000, Longitude: 55.0000
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 1650 to 2750
Area of KBA (km2): 4179.6596
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site encompasses a region of salt basins, desertic plains and barren rocky hills rising to c.2,750 m in the south-east Zagros Mountains c.90 km south-west of Sirjan. Habitats include bare saline flats subject to flooding during exceptional rains, sandy plains with Zygophyllum steppe, dissected stony outwash plains with sparse Artemisia steppe, and sparsely vegetated rocky hills. Land ownership is public.
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)
Additional biodiversity: See box for key species. The avifauna is typical of Iran's southern deserts and barren hill ranges. Podoces pleskei is a fairly common resident in Zygophyllum steppe near Beshneh in the east. Other breeding species include Aquila chrysaetos, Falco pelegrinoides (probable), Alectoris chukar, Pterocles orientalis, Athene noctua, Coracias garrulus, C. benghalensis, Alaemon alaudipes and Lanius excubitor. Rare winter visitors include Falco columbarius, Asio otus and A. flammeus. Passage migrants include Aquila nipalensis, Falco peregrinus and Emberiza melanocephala (abundant). At least 65 species have been recorded in the reserve. Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals: Canis lupus (V), Caracal caracal (rare), Panthera pardus (rare), Gazella subgutturosa (rare), Gazella dorcas fuscifrons (V), Capra hircus aegagrus (rare) and Ovis ammon (rare). Equus hemionus (V) was present until at least the late 1970s.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research (100%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 5 | |
| Desert | 95 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The entire area was designated a Protected Area in 1973. There is no information on any threats.
Additional information
References: Farnsworth (1992).