Le Cesine is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

and natural state reserve extending for 380 hectares near

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the province ...

, in southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It has been recognized as one of the

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in a ...

wetland sites of international importance in 1977, and a state nature reserve and a special protection area – SPA ( Birds Directive) in 1980. The management of the oasis has been entrusted to WWF Italy by the Ministry of the Environment and has been managed by WWF since 1979.

Biology and ecology

The park represents one of the last swampy areas that in the past extended from Otranto to

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

. There are two ponds, the Salapi and Pantano Grande, fed by the rains, which are separated from the sea by a cord of sand dunes. It is managed by the WWF Italy.

Fauna

Numerous birds find refuge in the nature reserve:

pochard Pochard is a common name used for several species of diving ducks: *Four species in the genus ''Aythya'': ** Common pochard, ''Aythya ferina'' ** Baer's pochard, ''Aythya baeri'' ** Ferruginous pochard, ''Aythya nyroca'' ** Madagascar pochard, '' ...

('' Aythya ferina''),

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

('' Fulica''),

marsh harrier The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. They are found almost worldwide, excluding o ...

(''

Circus aeruginosus The western marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were includ ...

''), red-crested pochard (''

Netta rufina The red-crested pochard (''Netta rufina'') is a large diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek ''Netta'' "duck", and Latin ''rufina'', "golden-red" (from ''rufus'', "ruddy"). Its breeding habitat is lowland marshes and lakes in sout ...

''), little grebe ('' Tachybaptus ruficollis''),

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

('' Phalacrocorax carbo'')

Flora

File:Le Cesine. Riserva naturale dello stato 01.jpg, File:Oasi_delle_Cesine.jpg, File:Uvetta selvatica.jpg, File:Fiori gialli, sasi e ulivi.jpg, File:Le Cesine. Riserva naturale dello stato 07.jpg, file:Le Cesine. Riserva naturale dello stato 08.jpg, file:Pantano grande.jpg,

References

Ramsar sites in Italy Nature reserves in Italy {{Italy-stub