Abstract
New ecological surveys in support of the creation of the proposed Iraqi Marshlands National Park were undertaken by Nature Iraq in June 2008 at the Central Marshes in southern Iraq. Surveys that occurred in two focal areas - Al Chibaish Marsh (10 sites) and Abu Zirig Marsh (two sites) - were supported by a preliminary land cover survey in November 2007. Satellite images from 2007 for the Central Marshes were acquired to support creation of maps. The Iraqi Marshlands Habitat Classiffcation System based on vegetation types has been developed to inventory habitats in these marshlands and to develop a methodology for application elsewhere in Iraq. Six habitat classes (inland running water, river or canal; inland standing water; marsh vegetation; desert; woodlands; and herbaceous vegetation) are included in this classification system, each of which is divided into several subclasses. The dominant habitat subclasses in the Central Marshes study area are: (1) rooted submerged vegetation, (2) helophytic vegetation (reed bed or reed mace bed), (3) free-floating vegetation, (4) terrestrial vegetation-shrub, (5) unvegetated river or canal, (6) unvegetated desert, and (7) flooded communities. This paper constitutes a review of the progress in developing this habitat classification system that remains under development.
Highlights
The Government of Iraq is currently considering the establishment of a new National Park in a portion of the Central Marshes of southern Iraq
All selected sites were within the proposed Central Marshes National Park area and were distributed between the Al Chibaish Marsh area and Abu Zirig Marsh area
Some species are native to Iraq such as Aeluropus lagopoides that exists near the margins of the marshlands (Townsend and Guest 1968)
Summary
In 2007 Nature Iraq with the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea initiated a project to identify, survey and map habitats in the area of the proposed park in collaboration with the Iraq Ministry of Environment. This habitat project is related to other projects that Nature Iraq is carrying out (such as the completion and implementation of a Management Plan for the Hawizeh Marsh, Iraq’s first Wetland of International Importance designated under the global Ramsar Convention in 2007; Rubec 2008).
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