• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
Karabolli (Garabulli, Qarabulli) is situated in north-west Libya on the Mediterranean coastal plain. It is located some 50 km east of Tripoli and 2 km north of the town of Al Garabulli (Al Qarabulli). The park is approximately rectangular in shape and is bounded by the Wadi Ramal in the west, Wadi Turghat in the east and extends up to 7 km inland from the coast. A third watercourse, the Wadi Al Mashid, runs through the site. These perennial streams are spring-fed and are generally slow-flowing except after rain. Wadi al Mashid is particularly slow and meandering and is surrounded by muddy areas and wet flushes. Wadi Ramal feeds into a small (1 ha) saline lagoon just behind the beach. The site consists of rolling continental sand-dunes, with sandy beaches and rocky shores backed by low, eroded sandstone cliffs. There are extensive seagrass Poseidonia oceania beds in the marine zone. The dunes are sparsely vegetated with marram grass Ammophila arenaria and Tamarix spp. and there is a natural scrub vegetation and areas of open pasture in some of the interdune basins while, beyond the dunes, there are open grass plains with low thorn scrub. Communities of Typha and Juncus spp., along with Phragmites australis reedbeds, interspersed with the shrubby Tamarix spp., occur beside springs and ponds in the wadis. In Wadi Turghat reedbeds extend for 2 km from the river mouth. However, most of the vegetation within the reserve is introduced, with sand-stabilizing plantations of Acacia and Eucalyptus spp. the most widespread habitat. In addition, tamarisk Tamarix spp., poplar Populus spp., pine Pinus spp., Acacia tortilis, fig Ficus indica and date-palm Phoenix dactylifera have also been planted.

Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 2 for key species. To date, some 99 species have been recorded. More than 45 Larus audouinii were present in 1982. The site is particularly important for Palearctic passage migrants. In addition, one species of the Sahara–Sindian biome (A02) has been recorded (see Table 2).

Non-bird biodiversity: Mammals of global conservation concern include Hyaena hyaena (LR/nt).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Karabolli (Libya). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/karabolli-iba-libya on 23/12/2024.