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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2000 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Woodlark Lullula arborea	LC	breeding (1993)	20–30 breeding pairs	C6

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Vallei van de Ziepbeek	State Nature Reserve (-)	7
1967	Hoge Kempen	Vlaams natuurreservaat (IV)	39
1967	Melchelse Heide	State Nature Reserve (-)	23
1988	De Mechelse Heide en de Vallei van de Ziepbeek	Special Protection Area (Birds Directive) (IV)	100
1990	openbaar bos Limburg	Openbaar bos (VI)	34
2002	Mechelse Heide en vallei van de Ziepbeek	Site of Community Importance (Habitats Directive) (IV)	83
2009	Pietersembos	Bosreservaat (IV)	6

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	60	Forestry plantations; Ruderal land
Forest	20	Broadleaved deciduous woodland
Shrubland	20	Heathland
Wetlands (inland)	5	Rivers and streams; Fens, transition mires and springs

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	40
forestry	40
agriculture	20
urban/industrial/transport	10
tourism/recreation	5

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mechelse Heide en de Vallei van de Ziepbeek (Belgium). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mechelse-heide-en-de-vallei-van-de-ziepbeek-iba-belgium on 14/01/2025.