Site description (2000 baseline)
A shallow, nutrient-rich lake situated in a generally flat landscape, except for a few higher areas that are covered by coniferous forest. The lake was lowered three times by drainage projects in the nineteenth century and the reclaimed land, now grazed water-meadows, forms an important wader habitat. The rapid water exchange in the lake means that the period of ice-cover is quite short. Livestock-grazing is the main land-use.
Key biodiversity
The site is important as a stop-over site for passage waterbirds and waders. Passage species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Anser erythropus, Crex crex and Gallinago media.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lake Östen (Sweden). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lake-östen-iba-sweden on 23/12/2024.