Vransko Lake

Vransko Lake
Vransko Lake
Vransko Lake
Vransko Lake
Vransko Lake
Vransko Lake
Vransko Lake, viewpoint Kamenjak
Vransko Lake, Ornithological reserve, educational trail
Vransko Lake, Ornithological Reserve

Vransko Lake

  • Country: 
    Croatia
  • Site number: 
    2109
  • Area: 
    5,748 ha
  • Designation date: 
    02-02-2013
  • Coordinates: 
    43°53'N 15°34'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Vransko Lake is the only brackish natural lake on the coast of Croatia. It is situated in a shallow karst bed and separated from the Adriatic Sea by a narrow karst ridge. Significant seasonal variations in water level and salinity, due to the intrusion of sea water through the permeable karst, have created conditions for the development of very specific habitats. The shallowest north-west part of the Site features reedbeds, flood plain and seasonally flooded arable land; the hills lining the eastern shore are covered with typical Mediterranean scrubland, while the lower western coast is more rocky. Some of these areas are included in the EU Natura 2000 list of protected habitats. The Site is a nesting, wintering and resting area for many threatened waterbirds such as common pochard, spotted crake and Baillon’s crake. The Site also provides habitat to the critically endangered European eel. During the rainy season, the marshy areas regulate floods, while the reedbeds purify the waters of fertilizers carried into the lake through melioration canals, threatening its eutrophication. Notable threats to the Site, such as reed burning, illegal fishing and hunting, have been significantly mitigated since the establishment of the protected area, and continue to be addressed through local education and implementation of the management plan.

Administrative region: 
Zadar & Šibenik-Knin counties

  • National legal designation: 
    • National Ecological Network
    • Nature Park - Vransko Lake
    • Special Ornitological Reserve
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    24-09-2019

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents