Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Gudo plain is in Welmera District (Wereda) of West Shoa Zone. It is c.25 km west of Addis Ababa, and just 12 km north-west of Gefersa Reservoir (site ET027). Gudo plain is part of the vast plains on the Central plateau of Shoa, in the Ethiopian North-western Highlands. Small streams, tributaries of the Sibilu river, drain this marshy area. The Sibilu drains into the Muger river. The vegetation of Gudo plain comprises grasses, sedges and other plants peculiar to these areas, such as
Trifolium spp. (including the endemdic
T. schimperi and
T. calancephalum),
Haplocarpha schimperi,
H. hastata,
a
Cerastium sp. and various
Cyperus spp. Chains of wetlands close to Gudo (namely Kiro, Danisa and Riqate), offer similar habitats, and are equally threatened.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. This site is of particular importance for its large population of
Vanellus melanocephalus.
Rougetius rougetii is resident but in small numbers, and
Macronyx flavicollis is considered fairly uncommon.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Gudo and the other nearby valley-bottom marshes are heavily grazed. The plain is divided into small plots among community members. Cattle are confined to their owners’ plots during the rainy season, but animals graze throughout the area during the dry season. Horses are allowed to graze freely. As grazing is constant, no hay crop is (or can be) taken.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gudo plain (Ethiopia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gudo-plain-iba-ethiopia on 23/11/2024.
