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Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
An area of mixed wetland and wooded habitats, a few kilometres from the northern Adriatic coast, north of the town of Ravenna. Punte Alberete (190 ha) is a flooded forest; Pialassa della Baiona (1,200 ha) is a brackish lagoon; Valle della Canna (260 ha) is a large reedbed; Pineta di San Vitale is a pinewood
Pinus (not native, but planted in Roman times). Punte Alberete and Valle della Canna are used mainly for nature conservation, Pialassa della Baiona and Pineta di San Vitale mainly for recreation and hunting.
This is an important breeding site for a wide variety of waterbirds, notably herons and terns, and is the best breeding site in Italy for
Aythya nyroca and
Acrocephalus melanopogon. Winter waterbird counts refer to winters of 1993, 1994 and 1996.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Coypu
Myocastor coypus, a non-native aquatic rodent, is destroying the floating vegetation. `Other' threats (above) are (1) the unsustainable collection of mushrooms and other products from the pinewood and collection of mussels in the Piallassa della Baiona, and (2) the destruction of terns' nests built on the roofs of hunting huts in Piallassa della Baiona. The nearby industrial area of Ravenna causes water pollution. Some or all of the site is covered by a management plan. Bird studies are carried out by WWF-Italia, Università di Ferrara and Università di Pavia, while breeding gulls and terns are censused by LIPU and Provincia di Ravenna. Research is also carried out by Regione Emilia Romagna on those species and habitats that are listed in the EC Habitats and Birds Directives.
National High
International High709 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Pineta di Ravenna (San Vitale), 709 ha). 3,000 ha of IBA covered by Regional Nature Park (Delta del Po, 59,118 ha). 400 ha of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Punte Alberete e Valle della Canna, 400 ha). Part of IBA covered by Special Protection Area (Valle Gorino, Bertuzzi, Comacchio, Ortazzo, Baiona, 20,400 ha). 1,630 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Piallassa della Baiona e Risega, 1,630 ha). 480 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Punte Alberete, 480 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Punte Alberete and Valle della Canna, Pineta San Vitale and Pialassa della Baiona (Italy). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/punte-alberete-and-valle-della-canna-pineta-san-vitale-and-pialassa-della-baiona-iba-italy on 23/11/2024.
