Janów forests (941)
Poland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2010
National site name: Lasy Janowskie
Central coordinates: Latitude: 50.6667, Longitude: 22.2500
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 200 to 240
Area of KBA (km2): 602.41392
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The north-western part of Solska forest. Wet soils cover half of the area, which is drained by many natural watercourses, channels and ditches. Forest vegetation is dense and species-rich, dominated in places by pine Pinus, fir Abies, spruce Picea, oak Quercus, beech Fagus, ash Fraxinus and alder Alnus. Many stands have a natural character with some old-growth trees. Raised bogs and transitional mires occur in areas with little water flow, and were used in the last century for fish-ponds. There are 150 such former ponds, each with an area of 10-50 ha and a varying amount of plant cover.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: Breeding species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Aythya nyroca (2-3 pairs), Crex crex.
Habitats
Land use: fisheries/aquaculture (20%) | forestry (80%) | hunting
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 79 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 15 | |
| Grassland | 3 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 3 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: There are 15-20 forest-fires per year, resulting from widespread recreational use of the area, although the fire-fighting response is well organized. Widespread tree-death or damage by infestations of insect pests (`Natural events') can also be a problem, although there is a well-organized monitoring system. In 1994 the area became a `forest promotion complex', where management (based on ongoing research) aims to re-create approximately natural forest conditions (including hydrology and soils) while allowing some exploitation of forest resources and products to continue, combined with public awareness activities. The site is an amalgamation of two sites (the former PL073-PL074) identified in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989).
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture | Subsistence/artisinal aquaculture | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Persecution/control | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases | Unspecified species | Ongoing |
| Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases | Unspecified species | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Ongoing | |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | War, civil unrest & military exercises | Ongoing |