• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2003 baseline)
The IBA is situated on the Attapu plain, immediately outside of Dong Ampham National Protected Area, in southern Lao P.D.R. The vegetation of the IBA is dominated by dry dipterocarp forest, with smaller patches of mixed deciduous forest. Although the IBA is, in general, very dry, with a gravelly substrate and few permanent watercourses, there are a number of seasonal pools of varying sizes scattered throughout it (Davidson et al. 1997). The major permanent watercourses in the IBA are the Xe Khaman, which flows through the centre, and the Xe Xou, which flows through the south. The avifauna of the IBA is characteristic of dry forest landscapes in central Indochina. The IBA is thought to support small numbers of White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis and Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus. While, by itself, the IBA is almost certainly not large enough to support viable populations of these two species in the long-term, it forms part of a network of sites throughout southern Lao P.D.R. and northern Cambodia that may be able to. In addition, the IBA may be used, at least periodically, by large waterbirds (R. J. Timmins in litt. 2002). Furthermore, the rivers within the IBA are known to support Lesser Fish Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis, and may also be important for a number of other riverine species.

Key biodiversity

Non-bird biodiversity: Davidson et al (1997) recorded one species of primate in the IBA site: Rhesus/Long-tailed Macaque Macaca mulatta/fascicularis. However, the author suggested that the species is likely to be Long-tailed Macaque.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Attapu Plain (Laos). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/attapu-plain-iba-laos on 25/11/2024.