Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site is located in the Petite Kabylie mountain range, which runs roughly parallel to the Mediterranean coast, south and east of the coastal town of Bejaïa and north-west of Constantine. The Djebel Babor forms a long crest (running west-south-west to east-north-east) within this mountain range, extending over 4 km and reaching a peak of 1,995 m (one of the highest peaks in the Petite Kabylie). The site lies only c.20 km from the coast at the Gulf of Bejaïa. The climate of Djebel Babor is particularly humid and cold, with annual precipitation c.2,500 mm, much of it falling as snow during the winter months. Snow can fall in all months between November and April and can lie as deep as 2–3 m. Spring can also be cool and stormy, but the summer months (August to October) tend to be dry with a more typically Mediterranean climate. The northern slopes are wetter due to the proximity to the coast. The southern slopes are steeper, less vegetated and tend to be drier and sunnier.
The principal vegetation above 1,650–1,800 m and covering the summit is mixed oak-fir forest, highly atypical of the Mediterranean zone and considered to be a relict habitat, containing some temperate species (e.g.
Populus tremula) that occur nowhere else in Africa. The dominant species of tree (reaching c.13 m high) are
Quercus faginea and
Abies numidica, with
Cedrus atlantica and occasional
Taxus baccata (including very old individual trees),
Populus tremula,
Acer obtusatum,
Sorbus aria and
S. torminalis. There is a dense understorey, with the field layer dominated by
Viola munbyana,
Senecio perralderianus and
Paeonia corallina. The fir,
Abies numidica, is endemic to Babor in Algeria (and found nowhere else in the Mediterranean) and several other herbs (
Saxifraga numidica,
Silene reverchoni,
Hieracum ernesti and
Orchis maculata baborica) are also endemic to the mountain. Below 1,800 m the vegetation on the northern and southern slopes differs markedly. On the wetter northern slopes there are extensive
Cedrus atlantica forests down to 1,600 m, thought to be secondary forest which has grown up on areas denuded by fires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1,200–1,600 m the forest is primarily
Quercus faginea and other deciduous oaks and below this (to 1,200 m), evergreen oaks,
Q. ilex. Due to the steep gradient and calcareous outcrops on the southern slopes, there are large bare areas, with some
Cedrus atlantica up to 1,700–1,800 m and below this (to 1,450 m), evergreen oaks,
Q. ilex.
See Box and Table 2 for key species. This site was the first-discovered location for the endemic (to Algeria) and probably sedentary
Sitta ledanti, first described in 1975. This is also a restricted-range species, the distribution of which defines the North Algerian mountains Secondary Area (s039). An initial, conservative estimate of numbers on the site was 20 pairs, although a total of 54 territories was identified in 1978, 10 with breeding confirmed. Subsequent surveys in 1982 revised the estimate upwards to 80 pairs. Until 1989, the species was thought to be endemic to Djebel Babor and dependent on the presence of
Abies numidica and
Cedrus atlantica, but in fact larger populations were found that year in the Parc National de Taza (site DZ022). Birds were found in 1990 in two other nearby forests in the Petite Kabylie, namely Tamentout (9,500 ha up to an altitude of 1,626 m) and Djimla (1,000 ha, up to 1,352 m), where they appeared to be widely distributed in
Quercus canariensis and
Q. afares woodland above 1,000 m. The four known sites for the species all lie within 30 km of each other, but it is not yet known whether there is any interchange of birds between the sites.
Sitta ledanti is restricted to the Mediterranean North Africa biome and three other species of this biome are also recorded from the site. These are
Phoenicurus moussieri (probably breeding),
Sylvia cantillans and
Picus vaillantii (the latter species has not been recorded from any other IBA in Algeria). A number of raptors are also recorded, including breeding
Gypaetus barbatus,
Neophron percnopterus and
Hieraaetus pennatus and (probably breeding)
Accipiter nisus.
Non-bird biodiversity: Djebel Babor shows high levels of endemism in all the groups that have been studied. In addition to the flora (see above), there is an endemic beetle (Carabus morbillosus mirei).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The site is classified as a Natural Reserve. In 1978 it was reported that the
Quercus faginea–
Abies numidica forest, estimated at 250 ha and considered to be essential habitat for
Sitta ledanti, was threatened by lack of tree regeneration. It appears that the young saplings are unable to establish due to a combination of dense understorey and deep winter snow. This, combined with the effects of fire, fuelwood-collection and of summer grazing by herds of cattle and goats was thought to threaten the survival of the unique forest and its endemic bird. However, the more recent discovery that
Sitta ledanti is not endemic to Babor, but also occurs (in larger numbers) and in slightly different climates and habitats elsewhere in Algeria (see DZ022), suggests that the immediate threats to the survival of this species are not as serious as first thought. The threats to the forest and its other endemic species presumably still remain, although the difficulties of access to the site (especially in winter) afford some degree of protection. A number of specific conservation proposals have been suggested and relevant authorities are said to be very supportive of action to protect the site, but no more recent information is available regarding its current status and management. The various actions proposed included a reduction in the levels of fuelwood exploitation, habitat management including selective tree-felling, reforestation and supplementary planting in areas of cultivation, restrictions on grazing in certain habitat-types, surveillance, visitor management and prevention or control of forest-fires.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Djebel Babor et Tababort (Algeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/djebel-babor-et-tababort-iba-algeria on 22/12/2024.
