Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
The 80-km stretch of the River Mura which flows through Slovenia. Seasonal flooding creates a characteristic landscape with numerous natural features, from gravel riverbanks to dense marshlands to old meanders along the lower stretch of the river, as well as huge alluvial forests. èrni log (1,200 ha) is the largest
Alnus forest in central Europe, and is dense and uninhabited. Because of the danger of flooding, dykes have been built along the riverbanks. The Mura river meadows, wet grasslands, flood-plain and forests remain relatively intact, but cultivated fields and grasslands are intensively managed.
The site supports important breeding numbers of numerous species of European conservation concern that are typical of flooded forest, meadows, and riverbanks. The population densities of many species are high due to the relatively natural state of the alluvial forest habitats. Significant proportion (³1%) of national population breeding at site:
Jynx torquilla (30-50 pairs). The site also holds nationally important numbers of breeding
Ciconia ciconia and riverine forest passerines.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
In 1985 the regional Nature Conservation Service prepared a proposal for some Landscape Parks in the area, but at the same time hydroelectric power-stations were planned, and the latter continue to be the main threat to the site. Remaining wet grasslands are threatened with drainage. Gravel extraction should be limited and some habitat restoration projects could be done. A planned highway between Slovenia and Hungary will probably cross the area. In 1992 DOPPS and Euronatur initiated the Drava-Mura nature conservation project (see also `River Drava', IBA 012). Conservation issues were publicized, and at an international conference this IBA was proposed as a Biosphere Reserve.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: River Mura (Slovenia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/river-mura-iba-slovenia on 23/12/2024.
