The vegetation of Omusati and Oshana regions, central-northern Namibia

Abstract

Central-northern Namibia is home to an approximate 43% of the country’s population, a large proportion of which still depends directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. The main land use in this area is agro-silvo-pastoralism i.e. a combination of subsistence farming and silvi-culture. The few phytosociological and biodiversity data available in Namibia are not substantial to motivate environmental management and sustainable utilization of the country’s natural wealth. The Vegetation Survey Project of Namibia coupled with the BIOTA southern Africa Project therefore share a common goal of re-classifying Namibian vegetation by building on the Preliminary Vegetation Map of Namibia of 1971 and the Homogenous Framing Areas Report of 1979. The vegetation of Omusati and Oshana regions which are situated in the Mopanne Savanna in central-northern Namibia was classified and described by subjecting 415 relevés to multivariate analysis i.e. classification and ordination. The geographical distribution of these community types was established by supervised classification of satellite data of the study area. Data collected in this study will be used for hypothesis generation of further ecological investigations while the map can be used for planning and conservation of vegetation resources in the area. Copyright