Saltpans are areas of significant landscape interest and important biodiversity reservoirs due to the differences in salinity, depth and plant formations that are present in there, allowing coexistence in a relatively confined area, of great variety of organisms at the base of the food chain. Spaces are of great importance for birds, with favourable conditions for food and shelter, without the impact of the influence of the daily cycle of tides. The saltmarsh provides food to many birds at low tide, especially wading birds, using their long beak to explore the sludge. The saltpans, while ensuring a low water level, serve as a shelter and food supplier during the high tide. However, only active and preserved saltpans work as a place of refuge, feeding and nesting for birds. The degraded saltpans are subject to tidal regime and lose the characteristics that make them so important to the avifauna.
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Fauna
The biodiversity of saltpans
Saltpans birds Some of the bird species that were observed in the saltpans are the Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta), the Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleuca), the Dunlin (Calidris alpina), flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber), the Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) and the Common Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), the Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) – the latter three species nest on the saltpan.
Saltpans invertebrates In the water column and in the muddy bottoms of the saltpans there is a wide variety of invertebrates, from insect larvae to the annelids (earthworms), gastropods (clams) and crustaceans (shrimps and crabs). The whole is a key food source in the food chain, supporting the majority of bird communities.