7ES020 Laguna de Manjavacas
Coordinates: 39º25'N - 002º52'W Elevation: 670 m Area:231 ha
Location:
The site is located about 5 km east-northeast of the town of Pedro Muñoz, and 110 km northeast of the city of Ciudad Real, Cuenca province, in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha, in central Spain. This site lies in the eastern sector of La Mancha Húmeda, only a few kilometres east of the Laguna de la Vega (o del Pueblo) Ramsar site.
Criteria:
1a, 1b, 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3b
The site is important for nesting waterbirds, including Himantopus himantopus (435 pairs), Recurvirostra avosetta (225 pairs) and Gelochelidon nilotica (150 pairs). The lagoon is also an important spring staging area and feeding ground for migratory ducks, e.g. Anas clypeata, and shorebirds, e.g. Philomachus pugnax. Up to 9,000 waterbirds have been counted in winter, notably Anas spp., Netta rufina, Aythya ferina and Fulica atra.
Wetland Types:
R, Sp
The site comprises a shallow, seasonally variable, highly saline lagoon and the surrounding marshes.
Biological/
Ecological notes
The vegetation contains hydrohalophytic and xerohalophytic species. When the main part of the wetland is flooded, the submerged vegetation includes Ranunculus spp. and Utricularia sp. Less frequently inundated areas support Salicornia ramosissima, Puccinelia fasciculata, Althaea officinalis, Suaeda splens, etc., and the lagoon is fringed by belts of Phragmites australis and Scirpus maritimus. There are also several islands, covered by Polypogon monspeliensis and Avena alba.
Hydrological/
Physical notes
 The site lies in an enclosed (endorreic) drainage basin which covers some 6,000 ha. This is within the catchment of the Guadiana River and within the zone influenced by "Aquifer 23". The maximum depth of the lake is 1 metre. The water is highly saline with an abundance of organic matter. The wetland is fed by spring rainfall and dries out rapidly during the hot, dry summer months.
Human uses
The site has been owned by the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha since 1989. The surrounding area is used for traditional agriculture, including the cultivation of grapes, olives and arable crops.

Conservation
Measures

The site has been designated a Refuge from Hunting (Refugio de Caza). It is also part of the 600 ha EU Special Protection Area for wild birds named Complejo Lagunar de Pedro Mu¤oz - Mota del Cuervo. Management and restoration measures have been implemented in parts of the site, but there is no overall management plan.
Adverse
Factors 		No reports of any problems have been received, although the lagoon receives polluted wastewater from the settlement of Mota del Cuervo. Some vegetational changes have been noted where the effluent enters the lagoon (i.e. increase of species more typical of freshwater). The underlying fossil water basin, Aquifer 23, has officially been recognized as over-exploited by the surrounding population.
References {a16}