PT029
Castro Verde plains


Country/territory: Portugal

IBA criteria met: A1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C6 (2002)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 83,579 hectares (835.79 km2)

Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves
IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2005 very poor low not assessed
For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here


Site description (2000 baseline)
Open plains used for non-intensive cultivation of cereals (mainly wheat), with sparse woodland of evergreen oak Quercus ilex. Due to the poor soils, cereals are grown on crop rotations of long duration. Fallow land is used for grazing sheep and cattle. There is scattered human habitation.

Key biodiversity
The area is of great importance for breeding birds of steppic habitats, especially Otis tarda (the most important site in Portugal).


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Castro Verde plains (Portugal). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/castro-verde-plains-iba-portugal on 22/12/2024.