Data Zone
Country/territory: Italy
IBA criteria met: A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6 (2002)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 24,650 hectares (246.50 km2)
Site description (2000 baseline)
A lowland agricultural area on the western Padana plain, south-west of the town of Vercelli, covered mainly by rice-fields. The area includes a broadleaved woodland called Bosco della Partecipanza and a wetland called Palude di San Genuario. Part of the site was listed in the previous pan-European IBA inventory (Grimmett and Jones 1989) as subsite 6 of the IBA `Heronries in the catchment of the upper Po and Sesia Rivers' (former site IT005).
Key biodiversity
A large mixed heronry (Garzaia di Montarolo) is located in Bosco della Partecipanza. The rice-fields are important for breeding and migrating waders.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Vercelli rice-fields (Italy). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/vercelli-rice-fields-iba-italy on 25/12/2024.