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• Text account
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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2011 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	resident	2006	255-310 individuals	A1, C1, C6
Great Bustard Otis tarda	EN	resident	2006	151 individuals	A1, C1, C6

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2011) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2007) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	300	300	breeding pairs	100	not assessed
Great Bustard Otis tarda	80	65	breeding pairs	82	not assessed
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	2	3	breeding pairs	100	not assessed

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Terrestrial	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	high
Energy production and mining	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	high
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Residential and commercial development	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Very little or no conservation action taking place	negligible

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable land, Perennial crops, orchards and groves, Ruderal land	95
Shrubland	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis	5

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	100
agriculture	80
urban/industrial/transport	20

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Alcarria de Alcalá steppes (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/alcarria-de-alcalá-steppes-iba-spain on 23/11/2024.