Data Zone
The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2011 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.
Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:| Species | Red List | Season (year/s of estimate) | Size | IBA criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis | LC | resident (2002) | 20–25 breeding pairs | C2, C6 |
| Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax | NT | breeding (2002) | 30–40 individuals | A1, C1, C6 |
| Great Bustard Otis tarda | EN | non-breeding (2010) | 40–50 individuals | A1, C1 |
| Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus | LC | breeding (2000) | 40–50 breeding pairs | C6 |
| Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti | VU | resident (2007) | min 300 males | A1, B2, C1, C2, C6 |
Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment | State | Pressure | Response |
| 2008 | unfavourable | high | very low |
| Whole site assessed? | State assessed by | Accuracy of information | |
| yes | habitat | good | |
| State (condition of the key species' populations) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Actual vs Reference (units) | % remaining | Result | ||
| Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis | 150 / 150 (breeding pairs) | 100 | not assessed | ||
| Great Bustard Otis tarda | 46 / 46 (individuals) | 100 | not assessed | ||
| Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti | 300 / 1,100 (males) | 28 | not assessed | ||
| State (condition of the key species' habitats) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Habitat | Quantity (% remaining) | Quality (% carrying capacity) | Result |
| Grassland | moderate (70–90%) | moderate (70–90%) | unfavourable |
| Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Threat | Timing | Scope | Severity | Result |
| Agricultural expansion and intensification | happening now | most of population/area (50–90%) | moderate deterioration (10–30% in 3 generations) | high |
| Energy production and mining | happening now | some of population/area (10–49%) | rapid deterioration (>30% over 3 generations) | high |
| Transportation and service corridors | happening now | some of population/area (10–49%) | slow deterioration (1–10% over 3 generations) | medium |
| Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Designation | Planning | Action | Result |
| Little/none of site covered (<10%) | No management planning has taken place | Very little or no conservation action taking place | very low |
| Habitat | % of IBA | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 60 | Steppes and dry calcareous grassland |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | 30 | Arable land |
| Forest | 10 | Broadleaved evergreen woodland |
| Shrubland | - | Scrub |
| Land use | % of IBA |
|---|---|
| agriculture | 100 |
| hunting | 90 |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Altos de Barahona high moor (Spain). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/altos-de-barahona-high-moor-iba-spain on 25/01/2025.