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Site description (2002 baseline)
This IBA comprises Khe Net proposed nature reserve, located in the lowlands of central Vietnam. The topography of the proposed nature reserve is characterised by low hills. The land cover of the area is dominated by lowland evergreen forest, at elevations between 150 and 400 m. Together with the contiguous Ke Go Nature Reserve in Ha Tinh province, Khe Net is the only area known to support a population of the globally endangered Vietnamese Pheasant Lophura hatinhensis in the world. Khe Net is situated within the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area (EBA), and supports a number of other endemic plant and animal taxa.

Key biodiversity
Khe Net proposed nature reserve supports six of a total of nine species which are considered as RRS in the central lowland forests, including Annam Partridge Arborophila merlini, Vietnamese Pheasant Lophura hatinhensis, Imperial Pheasant Lophura imperialis, Crested Argus Rheinarda ocellata, Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler Jabouillleia danjoui and Grey-faced Tit Babbler Macronous kelleyi. To date, Vietnamese Pheasant is only known from Ke Go Nature Reserve and Khe Net proposed nature reserve in the protected areas system in Vietnam. Imperial Pheasant has only been recorded at three sites: Ke Go, Khe Net and Dakrong proposed nature reserve, Quang Tri province. The population sizes of these species is little known, however recorded sightings from 1994, 1996 and 2000 indicate that Vietnamese Pheasant and Crested Argus are very rare and seem to be decreasing in number.

Non-bird biodiversity: Tiger Panthera tigris has been recorded at Khe Net (Le Trong Trai et al., 2001). Six species of globally threatened primates have been recorded at Khe Net proposed nature reserve: Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta, Stump-tailed Macaque Macaca arctoides, Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis, Hatinh Langur Trachypithecus francoisi hatinhensis, Red-shanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nemaeus nemaeus and White-cheeked Crested Gibbon Nomascus leucogenys (Le Trong Trai et al., 2001). The following ungulate species have been recorded at Khe Nte proposed nature reserve: Giant Muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, Southern Serow Naemorhedus sumatraensis and Gaur Bos gaurus. However, the Gaur population at the site has been hunted to the brink of extinction and is unlikely to be viable in the long term (Le Trong Trai et al., 2001).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khe Net (Vietnam). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khe-net-iba-vietnam on 23/12/2024.