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Site description (2004 baseline):
Site location and context
The IBA comprises Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's third largest national park, which is an ASEAN Heritage Site and has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is situated in the western Dangrek range, on the south-western edge of the Korat plateau in north-eastern Thailand. The topography of the site is generally hilly or mountainous, and forest cover is greater than 80%. The site supports five main vegetation types. Mixed deciduous forest occurs in the north-west of the site, between 300 and 600 m asl. Dry evergreen forest is largely confined to elevations between 200 and 400 m asl, and has undergone much disturbance. Hill evergreen forest occurs above 1,000 m asl on Khao Khieo ridge. The dominant vegetation type is moist evergreen forest, which is typically found between 500 and 1,000 m asl, and covers more than 60% of the site. In many lower-lying areas, moist evergreen forest merges with dry evergreen forest. Grassland and secondary growth occur in areas that were cultivated prior to the national park's establishment.
Khao Yai National Park is one of relatively few known regular wintering sites for the globally threatened Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus in the world. Another globally threatened species, Pale-capped Pigeon Columba punicea, has also been recorded at the site, although there have been no confirmed records in the last decade. The site also supports significant populations of a number of globally near-threatened species, including Brown Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli, Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis and Siamese Fireback Lophura diardi, the latter of which occurs at the site in relatively high densities. Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, also globally near-threatened, occurs at the site in small numbers.
The site qualifies under criterion A3 because it supports 12 species restricted to the Sino-Himalayan Subtropical Forests (Biome 08), 16 species restricted to the Indochinese Tropical Moist Forests (Biome 09) and nine species restricted to the Indo-Malayan Tropical Dry Zone (Biome 11).
Non-bird biodiversity:
Mammals
Asian Elephant Elephas maximus ((EN))
Tiger Panthera tigris ((EN))
Gaur Bos frontalis (VU)
Southern Serow Capricornis sumatraensis (VU)
Asian Golden Cat Catopuma temminckii (VU)
Dhole Cuon alpinus (VU)
Pileated Gibbon Hylobates pileatus (VU)
East Asian Porcupine Hystrix brachyura (VU)
Smooth-coated Otter Lutrogale perspicillata (VU)
Northern Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca leonina (VU)
Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa (VU)
Marbled Cat Pardofelis marmorata (VU)
Asian Black Bear Ursus thibetanus (VU)
Amphibians
Chantaburi Warted Treefrog Theloderma stellatum (VU)
Plants
Aquilaria crassna CR
Dipterocarpus baudii CR
Dipterocarpus gracilis CR
Dipterocarpus turbinatus CR
Hopea helferi CR
Afzelia xylocarpa (EN)
Anisoptera costata (EN)
Dalbergia oliveri (EN)
Dipterocarpus alatus (EN)
Hopea ferrea (EN)
Shorea henryana (EN)
Shorea roxburghii (EN)
Dipterocarpus retusus (VU)
Hopea odorata (VU)
The IBA comprises Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's third largest national park, which is an ASEAN Heritage Site and has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is situated in the western Dangrek range, on the south-western edge of the Korat plateau in north-eastern Thailand. The topography of the site is generally hilly or mountainous, and forest cover is greater than 80%. The site supports five main vegetation types. Mixed deciduous forest occurs in the north-west of the site, between 300 and 600 m asl. Dry evergreen forest is largely confined to elevations between 200 and 400 m asl, and has undergone much disturbance. Hill evergreen forest occurs above 1,000 m asl on Khao Khieo ridge. The dominant vegetation type is moist evergreen forest, which is typically found between 500 and 1,000 m asl, and covers more than 60% of the site. In many lower-lying areas, moist evergreen forest merges with dry evergreen forest. Grassland and secondary growth occur in areas that were cultivated prior to the national park's establishment.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Shifting cultivation, agricultural encroachment into forest around the national park's perimeter, hunting, and illegal extraction of agarwood (from Aquilaria crassna) and commercially valuable timber (from species such as Hopea odorata and Afzelia xylocarpa) are major threats to biodiversity at the site. The site is bisected by several metalled roads, including a new road from Prachinburi, which is thought to present an effective barrier to movement of some mammals, including gibbons. Khao Yai is one of the most frequently visited national parks in Thailand, and the development of large-scale tourism at the site has resulted in a number negative impacts at some key areas within the site.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khao Yai (Thailand). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khao-yai-iba-thailand on 18/12/2024.
