Nietlice marshes (958)
Poland, Europe
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2010
National site name: Bagna Nietlickie
Central coordinates: Latitude: 53.8667, Longitude: 21.8000
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 100 to 150
Area of KBA (km2): 40.8312
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The site is the remnant of the drained W¹¿ lake, now a fen covered by a system of drainage channels and surrounded by marshy forest of birch Betula and alder Alnus, willow Salix scrub and non-intensively used meadows. The site is drained by the Wê¿ówka river, which flows into Buwe³no lake. The Nietlickie marshes are the largest and most intact fens in the whole of the Mazury lakeland, and are covered by sedge-beds, reedbeds Phragmites and Salix scrub. In 1993 hay harvesting and hunting were stopped there. Because of the large roost of Grus grus this area is intensively visited by birdwatchers. Minor land-uses include chalk mining.
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.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture (15%) | forestry (5%) | not utilised (75%)
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 22 | |
| Grassland | 26 | |
| Other | 1 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 33 | |
| Forest | 18 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Any expansion of lake-chalk mining is a threat to the site, as are tourism (birdwatching) and associated bird disturbance, grass burning, the abandonment of cattle-grazing and of grass-mowing at the margins, hunting, and reed-harvesting (`Other' threat).