Abstract |
Vegetation classification and baseline mapping of the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti ecosystem (SMLE, northern Botswana) is important for conservation planning and animal habitat use studies. This study aimed to develop a baseline vegetation map of the SMLE, and use it for various wildlife habitat use studies currently being conducted there, and for understanding the functional heterogeneity and ecology of the SMLE. The vegetation of the SMLE were determined and mapped using Landsat 8 and RapidEye imagery. Cover of all species was estimated using 40 m x 20 m plots. Forage characteristics in four habitat types; two wetland habitats (wet sandveld and sedgelands), and two dryland habitats (mopane and sandveld) around the distal reaches of the Okavango Delta were sampled during the late dry season of 2015. Vegetation composition, structure and richness in two different vegetation types (mopane and sandveld woodland) at three distance zones (0-5, 10-15 and > 20 km) from the permanent water of the Okavango Delta and Linyanti Swamps were surveyed. In this survey, relationships between vegetation and herbivory in relation to distance from permanent water was determined. The seasonal movements and habitat selection of three buffalo Syncerus caffer caffer and six zebra Equus quaqqa herds were determined using GPS enabled collars in the SMLE. |
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