Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
A shallow, stream- and spring-fed saline lake (max. 16,500 ha) of tectonic origin. Freshwater marshes have developed around the springs; the lake supplies irrigation water and largely dries up during summer. The plain to the south-west comprises salt-steppe; the land to the north-east is intensively farmed. The site includes a complex of small freshwater lakes 10 km south-west of Acýgöl. Human activities include stock-grazing, salt extraction and reed-cutting (`Other' land-use).
The site is important for breeding waterbirds, although numbers have fallen in recent years, possibly due to low water-levels.
Tadorna ferruginea occurs throughout the year, and breeds in the surrounding mountains. Acýgöl was formerly important for breeding
Otis tarda; it seems certain that a small population survives.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
DSÝ plan to drain 13,620 ha of land between Acýgöl and the freshwater lakes, thereby destroying the largest intact salt-steppe ecosystem in the region. No environmental impact assessment has been carried out to date. Salt from the saltpans blows onto adjacent agricultural areas and reportedly damages crops and causes human respiratory problems. In 1996 work began on an industrial complex west of the area, which will use water from artesian wells. The possible effects of this scheme with regard to pollution and the lowering of groundwater levels are unknown.
National Low
International None1,100 ha of IBA covered by Permanent Wildlife Reserve (çaltý Gölü, 1,100 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Acıgöl Lake (Türkiye). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/acıgöl-lake-iba-türkiye on 22/11/2024.
