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

Site description (2000 baseline)
On the Slovenia-Croatia border, this is one of the largest areas of salinas on the Adriatic Sea. The major part lies in Slovenia. Desert-like areas are frequently flooded by seawater or brackish water. Salt-tolerant invertebrates are common, and up to 16 species of salt-tolerant plants are present. Most of the salinas (Fontanigge) were abandoned after the Second World War, but a smaller part (Lera), covering some 5-10% of the site, is still active in producing salt.

Key biodiversity
Important numbers of migratory and post-breeding Larus melanocephalus and Larus cachinnans congregate at the saltpans, and the adjacent sea is a migration route for significantly large numbers of Puffinus yelkouan. Species of global conservation concern that do not meet IBA criteria: Phalacrocorax pygmeus (3-23 birds at the pans in winter; numbers have been increasing), Acrocephalus paludicola (rare on passage, max. 1). The salinas are also notable nationally for their concentrations of waders on passage, for some breeding waterbirds and for wintering wildfowl, gulls and herons.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sečovlje saltpans (Slovenia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sečovlje-saltpans-iba-slovenia on 23/12/2024.