Baikiaea

Abstract: This study classified the vegetation of the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti ecosystem (SMLE), northern Botswana and developed a detailed map that provides a reliable habitat template of the SMLE for future wildlife habitat use studies. The major vegetation units of the SMLE were determined from satellite imagery and field visits and then mapped using Landsat 8 and RapidEye imagery and maximum likelihood classifier. These units were sampled using 40 m x 20 m (800 m²) plots in which the coverage of all plant species was estimated. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) demonstrated that plant communities were determined by gradients in soil texture or fertility and wetness. NMS 1 represented a gradient of soil texture with seven woodland communities on sandy soils (sandveld communities and Baikiaea forest) dominated by Baikiaea plurijuga in Baikiaea forest and Terminalia sericea and Philenoptera nelsii in sandveld, with various indicator species differentiating the various sandveld community types. Mopane woodland further from and riparian woodland adjacent to permanent water was common on less sandy alluvial soils. Mineral-rich, heavy clay soils in the sump of a large paleolake system support open grassland and mixed Senegalia/Vachellia ( Acacia ) savanna, with the mineral-rich soils supporting grasses high in minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, sodium and potassium, and thus this region is a critical wet season range for migratory zebra. Taller, high-quality grasses in the mosaic of sandveld and mopane woodland communities provide critical grazing for taller grass grazers such as buffalo, roan and sable antelope, whereas wetland communities provide reliable green forage during the dry season for a variety of herbivores, including elephant. This study has demonstrated how large-scale environmental gradients determine functional habitat heterogeneity for wildlife. Conservation implications: Our study demonstrated that the functionality of protected areas is determined by large-scale environmental gradients. Thus conservation science must aim to ensure that protected areas cover the full range of key environmental gradients in a region (soil texture and wetness in our study). Our habitat map provides a data base for wildlife habitat use studies in the region.

Abstract: Variation in floristic composition of recovering Baikiaea–Guibourtia–Pterocarpus woodlands was studied in different development stages (from early regrowth to mature woodland) under different land-...

Abstract: We studied the dominant species by age category of re-growth, and how subsistence forest use through shifting cultivation impacted on the floristic composition of Baikiaea forest. For re-growth stands, variable sampling method was adopted in data collection while in mature stands, a sample plot size of 50 m × 50 m was used at each of three study sites. Distribution of species by age categories showed that shrub, herb, and grass species were abundant in young re-growth stands while woody vegetation became common with increasing age of the re-growth stand. Hierarchical clustering for common woody species showed several species associations with age categories and also with relatively undisturbed woodland. Common regeneration mechanisms of key woody species were mainly by seed (48%), coppicing (40%) and root suckers (12%). The young re-growth stands of 6–10 and 11–15 years were characterized by B. petersiana, B. massiensis, Combretum zeyheri, and Guibourtia coleosperma. Older stands (16–20 years after abandonment) were characterized by B. plurijuga, Pterocarpus antunesii, and Baphia massiensis, thus closely mimicking the relatively undisturbed forest whose dominant key woody species were B. plurijuga, P. antunesii, and G. coloesperma. There were many stems in younger stands (2–5 years) and fewer stems in older re-growth stands of 16–20 years after abandonment following shifting cultivation. Older re-growth stands (16–20 years) were similar to undisturbed stands (P < 0.005). The similarity between re-growth stands of 16–20 years and control stands demonstrates the recovery of Baikiaea forest over time after cessation of shifting agriculture. Baikiaea forest requires some disturbance to perpetuate the dominant species and begins to show signs of recovery from shifting cultivation within 16–20 years after abandonment. This is contrary to assertions that this ecosystem could take up to about 100 years for abandoned fields to begin showing signs of recovery

Abstract: The Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands fall entirely within the Kalahari Woodland biome, a subset of savanna In 2015, the line transect method was employed to study avian assemblages associated with Zambezian Baikiaea In total, 10 transects were designed along a straight 12 km long line, so that each transect was 12 km long A total of 88 species represented by 1190 pairs were recorded On average, there were 429 species per transect The overall density was 358 pairs/km, ranging from 292 to 442 on particular transects Overall, Streptopelia capicola was the only dominant species It was also the only species recorded as dominant on all the transects The following other species were recorded as dominant: Cercotrichas leucophrys, Laniarius aethiopicus, Turtur chalcospilos, Dicrurus adsimilis, Lamprotornis nitens, Upupa africana, Apalis flavida, Ploceus velatus, Tchagra australis and Numida meleagris The proportion of dominant species (cumulative dominance) varied from 189 to 377 (x = 285; n =