Current view: Text account
Site description (2002 baseline):
Site location and context
Open plains used for cultivation of cereals (mostly wheat) in rotation with melon, sunflower and tomato. Pastoral woodland and fallow areas are grazed by sheep and cattle. Low level of human activity.
An important area for steppic species, specially for the conservation of
Otis tarda in Portugal, as well as one of the most important wintering sites for
Grus grus.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The non-intensive cultivation of cereals maintains favourable habitat for steppic bird species, but the advent of irrigated crops in the IBA and the construction of a large dam nearby, to provide water for further irrigation, are strong indicators that further agricultural intensification will take place in the future. Birds are disturbed by the increasing road-traffic and by irrigation structures operating in the vicinity.
National: Spetial protection area Campo Maior, 9575 ha overlaps with IBA
International : SPA Campo Maior and Candidature SIC Caia
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Campo Maior (Portugal). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/campo-maior-iba-portugal on 23/11/2024.
