A phytosociological classification of the vegetation of etosha heights private game reserve, Namibia.
| dc.contributor.author | Marufu, Vimbai J. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-10-31T09:46:15Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-10-31T09:46:15Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-04 | |
| dc.description | Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Natural Resources Management at the Namibia University of Science and Technology | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | The description of vegetation becomes more and more important for land management in the face of global climate change. In this thesis a description of the vegetation of Etosha Heights Private Game Reserve (EHGR) and its condition thereof is given. The study was conducted at Etosha Heights Private Game Reserve in the Kunene region. The reserve is a collection of ten previously cattle farms adjacent to the southern border of the Etosha National Park in Namibia. It forms part of the Angolan Mopane Woodlands, with extensive Karst elements in the form of Dolomite ridges. The study area receives on average 300 – 350 mm MAP. The reserve was stratified according to terrain features identified on aerial images, aided by an SRTM digital terrain model. 192 plots were sampled across all initial stratification units using the Braun-Blanquet method. These relevés were classified with modified TWINSPAN using a synusial approach. In addition, samples of top soil were collected and analysed for chemical and physical properties. Environmental characteristics of each relevé were subjected to a Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) ordination to understand correlations between species composition and environmental characteristics. From the initial vegetation classification, two major vegetation units of higher syntaxonomic ranking were identified, split and further analysed separately which then subdivided into 11 associations. Altitude, slope, sand, silt and clay are the major descriptors of these vegetation units. A comparison of these associations with existing vegetation descriptions for the Etosha National Park and other studies done of the Mopane veld is done. With this descriptive work, knowledge about natural vegetation in the under-sampled arid Mopane savanna in the Kunene Region of Namibia is expanding | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Marufu, V. J. (2023). A phytosociological classification of the vegetation of etosha heights private game reserve, Namibia [Unpublished master's thesis]. Namibia University of Science and Technology. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://ir.nust.na:8080/jspui/handle/10628/1010 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Namibia University of Science and Technology | en_US |
| dc.subject | Vegetation Namibia | en_US |
| dc.subject | Etosha Nashional Park | en_US |
| dc.subject | Landscape conservation | en_US |
| dc.title | A phytosociological classification of the vegetation of etosha heights private game reserve, Namibia. | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |