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

The site was identified as important in 1998 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Short-clawed Lark Certhilauda chuana	LC	resident	1998	present	A1

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1998) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1998. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Short-clawed Lark Certhilauda chuana	150	120	individuals	80	near favourable

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Grassland	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable
Shrubland	good (> 90%)	moderate (70-90%)	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Residential and commercial development	happening now	whole area/population (>90%)	very rapid to severe deterioration	very high
Energy production and mining	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Transportation and service corridors	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Natural system modifications	happening now	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1965	Pietersburg Nature Reserve	Nature Reserve	100

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Terrestrial		95
Shrubland		4
Forest		-
Grassland	Grassland - edaphic, dry	-

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
forestry	70
water management	10
nature conservation and research	2
unknown	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Polokwane Nature Reserve (South Africa). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/polokwane-nature-reserve-iba-south-africa on 23/11/2024.