Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
A small freshwater lake in the Middle Atlas, 40 km from Azrou on the road to Midelt, about 9 km south of the village of Timahdit, situated at 1,910 m in a mountain bowl whose surrounding slopes extend upwards to 2,020 m. The wetland itself is composed of three parts: a deep, permanent lake occupying a small crater; a larger but shallower spring-fed lake located to the south, often muddy and marshy; and a large marshy zone, often dry for large parts of the year and used by livestock. The site is heavily overgrazed and vegetation is only luxuriant in the wetter areas, which consist of
Phragmites and
Typha beds. In addition to livestock, the site is also used by fishermen.
See Box for key species. Several wildfowl species winter at the site, but only
Tadorna ferruginea and
Anas platyrhynchos have been recorded in any numbers (500 of the latter in 1993).
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Land-ownership is public. The site currently suffers from overgrazing, and at least in some parts from siltation, leading to progressive habitat modification with as yet unknown effects. The site is a priority 2 SIBE (No. H22). Further survey and monitoring are required, and protective measures are recommended.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Aguelmane n'Tifounassine (Morocco). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/aguelmane-ntifounassine-iba-morocco on 23/12/2024.
