Diversity patterns of woody vegetation of Kgatleng District, Botswana.

Abstract

Vegetation assessments have intensified around the globe to document plant diversity in the wake of climatic shifts and local environmental changes. Botswana also recognises the value of documenting plant diversity, and in this study, we present the results of a vegetation survey of Kgatleng District. Between November 2013 and December 2016, we assessed tree species abundance on 77 plots sized 20 m × 50 m. Vegetation classification resulted in the identification of five woody plant communities: Terminalia sericea-Maytenus tenuispina, Dichrostachys cinerea-Combretum apiculatum, Combretum zeyheri-Vachellia tortilis, Senegalia erubescens-Senegalia mellifera, and Grewia flava-Rhigozium brevispinosum. Oneway analysis of variance indicated that species richness was not different among the five plant communities, nor was tree density. We furthermore provide a vegetation map of the district based on supervised classification of Landsat 8 imagery.