CZ005
Sumava mountains (Bohemian forest)


Country/territory: Czechia

IBA criteria met: A1, B2, B3, C1, C6 (2002)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 97,493 hectares (974.93 km2)

Czech Society for Ornithology
IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2013 good high low
For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here


Site description (2002 baseline)
AAn extensive 120 km-long mountain range bordering Bavaria and Austria. It is one of the largest and oldest mountain ranges in central Europe. Secondary spruce forests are the dominating cover, but remnants of virgin spruce forests are still present at altitudes above 1,200 m. Other primary types of forests in the umava mountains, flowering beech forests and fir forests, have remained in their primeval form only locally at altitudes between 600 and 1,100 m. Following the near-complete evacuation of the population of the umava mountains after the World War II, a mosaic of secondary treeless areas and different vegetation succession stages emerged at lower altitudes. A large number of streams and numerous raised and valley bogs are typical for the area. Five of the eight umava glacial lakes, which are more than 10,000 years old, are found on the Czech side of the mountains. Many water reservoirs were built there; the Lipenská dam in the southern part of umava is the biggest of them. The territory of this IBA also includes the whole Boletice military training area. A large, extremely varried and mainly forested area. It is a colorful mosaic of different habitat types, some of them specifically influenced by military activities.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sumava mountains (Bohemian forest) (Czechia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sumava-mountains-(bohemian-forest)-iba-czechia on 23/12/2024.