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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 ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Common Crane Grus grus	LC	passage (2009)	max 48,000 birds	A4i, B1i, C2
Common Crane Grus grus	LC	winter (2009)	max 25,000 birds	A4i, B1i, C2
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	resident (2006)	40–115 birds	A1, C1, C6
Great Bustard Otis tarda	EN	non-breeding (2011)	max 158 birds	A1, C1
Great Bustard Otis tarda	EN	resident (2011)	21–55 birds	A1, C1
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	non-breeding (2009)	min 100 birds	C6
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	breeding (2009)	25–30 pairs	C6
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	non-breeding (2009)	min 350 birds	C6
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	breeding (2009)	25–50 pairs	C6
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	resident (2007)	present	C6
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	LC	passage (2009)	max 35 birds	C6
Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	LC	resident (2009)	min 20 pairs	C6
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	LC	breeding (2006)	min 14 pairs	C6
Dupont's Lark Chersophilus duponti	VU	resident (2007)	min 31 males	A1, C1
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage (2009)	max 48,000 birds	A4iv, B1iv, C5

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2016) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina	2 / 150 (birds)	2	very poor
Common Pochard Aythya ferina	0 / 150 (pairs)	0	very poor
Gadwall Mareca strepera	0 / 20 (pairs)	0	very poor
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra	0 / 1,200 (birds)	0	very poor
Common Crane Grus grus	50,000 / 50,000 (birds)	100	good
Himantopus himantopus	20 / 2,800 (pairs)	1	very poor
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida	0 / 100 (pairs)	0	very poor
Sterna nilotica	0 / 25 (pairs)	0	very poor
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	2 / 10 (pairs)	20	very poor

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Artificial/Terrestrial	-	moderate (70–90%)	very poor
Grassland	-	good (>90%)	good
Wetlands (inland)	-	good (>90%)	good

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Climate change and severe weather	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Pollution	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Natural system modifications	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Most of area (50–90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	No management plan exists, but the management planning process has begun	Very little or no conservation action taking place	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1985	Laguna de Gallocanta	National Game Reserve (IV)	23
2006	Laguna de Gallocanta	Reserva Natural Dirigida (IV)	7

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	70	Arable land; Ruderal land
Grassland	15	Humid grasslands; Mesophile grasslands
Wetlands (inland)	15	Standing brackish and salt water; Water fringe vegetation

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	26
hunting	-
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gallocanta lake (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gallocanta-lake-iba-spain on 24/12/2024.