A baseline classification of riparian woodland plant communities in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Tsheboeng, Gaolathe; Murray-Hudson, Michael; Kashe, Keotshephile

doi:10.2989/20702620.2015.1108619

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…These include studies conducted by Medina (1986) in Mexico, Roberts and Ludwig (1991) in Australia, Lyon and Sagers (2002) in Missouri, Fousseni et al (2011) in Togo, Strohbach (2013 in Namibia, de Oliveira et al (2014) in the Pantanal, Brazil and Revermann et al (2017) in Angola. However, this is in stark contrast with the Okavango Delta where very few studies (Neelo et al 2013;Neelo et al 2015;Teketay et al 2016;Tsheboeng et al 2016a) have been carried out on the woodland species composition. Most of the previous studies were conducted on plant community composition and, mainly, focused on the herbaceous seasonal floodplain communities (Ellery et al 1993;Bonyongo 1999;Bonyongo et al 2000;Ellery and Tacheba 2003;Murray-Hudson, 2009;Tsheboeng et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The sampling plots measured 1000m 2 (20m × 50m). This is the plot size that was used in the earlier study on the quantification of woodland species composition in the upper regions of the Okavango Delta (Tsheboeng et al 2016a). Riparian woody species were identified in randomly selected plots.…”

Section: Sampling Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is only recently that there were efforts to quantify the species composition of riparian woodland communities. However, such efforts were, mostly, limited to the upper regions of the Delta, excluding the distal areas, such as the Thamalakane River (Tsheboeng et al 2016a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Classification of riparian woody plant communities along the Thamalakane River in northwestern Botswana.

Tsheboeng

2020

Bots. J. Agric. Appl. Sci.

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There is still paucity of information on the species composition of woody species along the Thamalakane River, northern Botswana, which may limit efforts aimed at conserving riparian woodland species. The current study was aimed at classifying the vegetation, and determining the species composition and diversity of the riparian woodland plant communities along the Thamalakane River. It was hypothesized that there will be no different woodland communities along the Thamalakane River. The 71 sampling plots measured 1000m2 (20m × 50m). In each plot,the percentage cover for each species was estimated following the Braun-Blanquet scale. Different woodland communities were determined through Hierarchical Cluster Analysis followed by Indicator Species Analysis. Multi-Response Permutation Procedures (MRPPs) were used to determine whether or not there was a significant separation between the groups. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to statistically compare the diversity between woodland communities. Five major woodland communities were identified along the Thamalakane River, namely Vachellia tortilis-Gardenia volkensii, Combretum imberbe-Gymnosporia senegalensis, Philenoptera violacea-Garcinia livingstonei, Dichrostachys cinerea-Flueggea virosa and Croton megalobotrys-Colophospermum mopane. There was significant (p <0.05) separation between the plant groups. Species diversity was highest in Dichrostachys cinerea-Flueggea virosa community and lowest in Vachellia tortilis-Gardenia volkensii community. The distribution of woodland species in along Thamalakane river could be influenced by human disturbance, which may override abiotic environmental conditions such as flooding in influencing the composition and distribution of plant species. This calls for proper management initiatives of the riparian vegetation in the study area. Such initiatives may include establishment of exclosures to promote the germination and propagation of the woodland species. Other strategies may include education and awareness creation of the local communities to promote their co-existence with the riparian vegetation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Sampling Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Classification of riparian woody plant communities along the Thamalakane River in northwestern Botswana.

Tsheboeng

2020

Bots. J. Agric. Appl. Sci.

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“…, 2002). For this, maximum number of significant (p ≤ 0.050) p-values with minimum average p-value criteria was used as indicator of biologically meaningful algal groups (Tsheboeng et al, 2016).Indicator species analysis was performed after Dufrene &Legendre(1997). Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed by using Euclidean as distance and Ward as linkage method for classification of algal groups and their associated species.…”

Section: Environmental Variables and Laboratory Protocolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multivariate analyses of algal diversity from highly polluted sites of sawan river Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Khan¹,

Ahmed²,

Qureshi³

et al. 2017

PJWSR

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The anthropogenic activities resulted in degradation of various ecosystems leading toward changes in the floristic composition of the simple microscopic algae to highly complex plants. Keeping this into consideration, a detailed limnological study was conducted from March 2008 to February 2011 from four highly polluted sites of the Sawan River to assess the algal groups and their associated species through indicator species analysis (ISA) and hierarchical clustering. Species diversity, richness and evenness values of each group were calculated and abundance status of algal species was assigned based on species importance value index. Seasonal and annual variations in algal composition were assessed by using Multi-Response Permutation Procedure (MRPP). A total of 36 algal species belonged to five different phyla were recorded. On the basis of species average annual importance value index, 8 species were recognized as rare, 11 less common, 11 common and 6 as abundant. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that total observed variations in the species data were 0.9656 (constrained: 0.3897, unconstrained: 0.5759), thus explanatory variables contributed 40.36% variability. Water turbidity, electrical conductance and rainfall were observed as important explanatory variables; whereas least contribution was made by total dissolved solids and pH variables. On the basis of present findings, the Sawan River is recognized as wastewater and garbage disposal channel rather than a stabilized lotic natural freshwater source in the study area.

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“…We identified the islands from recent imagery available on Google Earth. Work by Tsheboeng, Murray-Hudson & Kashe (2016) informed the choice of common species. Eight different species were studied in total.…”

Section: Sample Treesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sap flow variation in selected riparian woodland species in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

2017

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In the tropical Okavango Delta, transpiration by trees is an important process partly responsible for maintaining the basin as a freshwater environment. Quantification of evapotranspiration from terrestrial landforms of the delta, fringed by riparian woodlands, is one of the main contributors to uncertainty in current hydrological modelling. We investigated sap flow of common trees in the distal, mid-and upper delta in July-August 2012, November-December 2012 and February-April 2013 using the compensation heat pulse velocity method. In the distal delta, four Diospyros mespiliformis individuals of different sizes were studied. Four trees of different species were studied in the mid-and upper delta. Sap flow density (SFD; flow per unit cross-sectional area) was used as a common unit to facilitate comparison. Sap flow varied with tree size, species, season and location. It was positively correlated with tree size (r 2 = 0.67). Sap flow variation between seasons and across locations in all the species studied indicated two distinct groups. Group 1 transpired the least during the hottest season, November-December, and Group 2 the most. In Group 1, the highest average SFD was 1.17 l cm À2 day À1 during July-August; in Group 2, it was 1.07 l cm À2 day À1 during November-December. Changes in the hydrology of the delta would negatively affect the riparian woodland.

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A baseline classification of riparian woodland plant communities in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Cited by 6 publications

References 33 publications

Classification of riparian woody plant communities along the Thamalakane River in northwestern Botswana.

Classification of riparian woody plant communities along the Thamalakane River in northwestern Botswana.

Multivariate analyses of algal diversity from highly polluted sites of sawan river Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Sap flow variation in selected riparian woodland species in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

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