Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information This is the core breeding area for Crex crex in Norway, and one of the most important wintering and staging areas for inland waterbirds in Norway, with more than 10,000 occurring in winter. Notable wintering species include Gavia stellata (25), G. arctica (6), G. immer (20), G. adamsii (occasional) and Podiceps grisegena (110).

Site description Jæren is one of the main agricultural districts in Norway, lying west and south of the city of Stavanger. The area is defined as the rectangle from Lake Søylandsvatn and Lake Lonavatn in the south (c.5 km apart), stretching about 27 km northwards to Hafrsfjord. The landscape is gently undulating, and the site includes several lakes, sand-dune shores, stone/boulder beaches and some shallow sea. The lakes have a rich aquatic vegetation.

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Alvevatn	Nature Reserve	13	protected area contained by site	13
Øksnevadtjern	Nature Reserve	12	protected area contained by site	12
Grannesbukta	Nature Reserve	6	protected area contained by site	6
Grudevatnet	Nature Reserve	74	protected area contained by site	74
Hagavågen	Nature Reserve	36	protected area contained by site	36
Harvalandsvatn	Nature Reserve	331	protected area contained by site	331
Heigremyra	Nature Reserve	8	protected area contained by site	8
Jaeren wetland system	Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar)	3,256	protected area contained by site	400
Jærstrendene	Protected Landscape	9,522	protected area contained by site	1,608
Lonavatn	Nature Reserve	32	protected area contained by site	32
Orrevatn	Nature Reserve	900	protected area contained by site	900
Søylandsvatn	Nature Reserve	70	protected area contained by site	70
Smokkevatn	Nature Reserve	24	protected area contained by site	24
Strandnesvågen	Nature Reserve	13	protected area contained by site	13

Habitats

Land use

Management considerations The lakes are nutrient-rich, but this is mainly due to agricultural pollution, which has accelerated vegetational succession and which causes blooms of toxic algae. The Grudevatn and Jærstrendene protected areas form part of the existing Ramsar Site. All the other Nature Reserves have been newly designated, and all of them (except Heigremyra) have been proposed for incorporation into the existing Ramsar Site or for designation as new, individual Ramsar Sites.

Protection status National Partial International Low13 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Alvevatn, 12 ha). 6 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Grannesbukta, 6 ha). 74 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Grudevatnet, 74 ha). 36 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Hagavågen, 36 ha). 331 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Harvalandsvatn, 331 ha). 8 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Heigremyra, 8 ha). 32 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Lonavatn, 32 ha). 900 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Orrevatn, 900 ha). 24 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Smokkevatn, 24 ha). 13 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Strandnesvågen, 13 ha). 70 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Søylandsvatn, 70 ha). 12 ha of IBA covered by Nature Reserve (Øksnevadtjern, 12 ha). 1,608 ha of IBA covered by Landscape Protection Area (Jærstrendene, 1,608 ha). 400 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Jæren, 400 ha).

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Recommended citation  BirdLife International (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Jæren wetland system. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013

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