Data Zone
Country/territory: Cambodia
IBA criteria met: A3 (2003)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 52,783 hectares (527.83 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2009 | poor | medium | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2003 baseline)
The IBA comprises of Kirirom National Park, together with a contiguous area of natural habitat to the west. The topography of the national park is dominated by a low massif, which rises sharply from the surrounding, densely populated lowlands to 900 m asl. The most extensive vegetation type within the national park is natural coniferous forest dominated by Pinus merkusii and with an open, grassy understorey, which is distributed on an undulating plateau, at approximately 700 m asl. The national park also supports semi-evergreen forest, and, at lower elevations, mixed deciduous forest and deciduous dipterocarp forest. There are many small streams within the national park and several artificial lakes but no major rivers. The contiguous area of natural habitat to the west of the national park is within a forest concession, under the management of Samling International. This area comprises extensive semi-evergreen forest with smaller patches of coniferous forest, distributed on a series of steep hills, which rise to over 800 m asl. The area is drained by a number of small streams, which feed two larger rivers. As a result of habitat degradation and unsustainable hunting pressure, the avifauna of the IBA is less intact than that of a number of other sites in the Elephant and Cardamom Mountains. However, the IBA is the only site in Cambodia from where there are records of Brown Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli. In addition, Lesser Fish Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis occurs along the rivers in the area to the west of the national park, and there are unconfirmed records of Chestnut-headed Partridge Arborophila cambodiana.
Key biodiversity
Eight Woodpecker species and two nuthatch species are found together in the pure pine forest. Wreathed Hornbill occurs in the important flocks outside the breeding season and the first record for the country of the GNT Brown Hornbill.
Non-bird biodiversity: Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Bear Macaque (Macaca arctoides), Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina), Silvered Langur (Semnopithecus cristatus), Pileated Gibbon (Hylobates pileatus), Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang).Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata).Black Pine (Pinus merkusiiAsian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Gaur (Bos gaurus), Southern Serow (Naemorhedus sumatraensis).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Kirirom (Cambodia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kirirom-iba-cambodia on 23/12/2024.