Data Zone
Country/territory: Iran, Islamic Republic of
IBA criteria met: A1, B2 (1994)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 250,000 hectares (2,500.00 km2)
Site description (1994 baseline)
A vast area of cultivated upland plains and gently undulating hills, c.90 km from east to west and 30 km north to south, including the broad valleys of the Rud-i Jowin and Rud-i Kalshur rivers. The rivers flood in winter and spring and are reduced to a series of stagnant brackish pools by late summer. There are some seasonally flooded brackish marshes. Other habitats include cultivated land (mainly cereals), salt-tolerant vegetation in depressions on the valley floors, and Artemisia steppe on the rolling hills. There is some livestock grazing.
Key biodiversity
See box for key species. A wintering area for Otis tarda in the 1970s, with birds present from November until late February; up to 13 have been recorded by Department of the Environment personnel, but local farmers have reported flocks of up to 70. The site is also a wintering area for ducks, mainly Anas platyrhynchos and A. crecca.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Acknowledgements
Data-sheet compiled by Dr D. A. Scott, reviewed by Dept of Environment.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Rud-i Jowin and Rud-i Kalshur (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/rud-i-jowin-and-rud-i-kalshur-iba-iran-islamic-republic-of on 28/12/2024.