Okavango Research Institute (ORI): Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 196
-
Remote sensing-derived hydroperiod as a predictor of floodplain vegetation composition
(Springer Link; https://link.springer.com, 2014-02-13)Characterising hydroperiod and vegetation for flood-pulsed wetlands is a critical first step towards understanding their ecology. In large, data-poor wetlands such as Botswana’s Okavango Delta, quantifying hydrology and ... -
Soil factors that influence the abundance and distribution of threatened and endangered species in the Okavango Delta; with particular emphasis on Eulophia angolensis
(Scientific Research Publishing, http://www.scirp.org, 2015-05-19)Eulophia angolensis is an endangered plant species found in the Okavango Delta. Generally, there is lack of botanical information on this species in Botswana, which is necessary for its in -situ and ex-situ conservation. ... -
Plant community response to loss of large herbivores differs between North American and South African savanna grasslands.
(Ecological Society of America; https://www.esa.org/esa/, 2014-04-01)Herbivory and fire shape plant community structure in grass‐dominated ecosystems, but these disturbance regimes are being altered around the world. To assess the consequences of such alterations, we excluded large herbivores ... -
Improving financial inclusion of the socially and economically disadvantaged in Botswana through the Grameen Bank Microcredit Model
(Botswana Journal of Business; http://journals.ub.bw, 2016-10-04)Almost fifty years after attaining independence from the Great Britain and achieving remarkable economic development, Botswana is still struggling to have universal financial inclusion for its people. This paper discusses ... -
Climate variability and rural livelihoods: how households perceive and adapt to climatic shocks in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
(American Meteorological Society; https://journals.ametsoc.org, 2016-04)Climate variability and change have adverse effects on agricultural production and other livelihood strategies of the rural households. The paper hypothesizes that rural households naturally devise means of overcoming the ... -
Variation of physico-chemical parameters along a river transect through the Okavango Delta, Botswana
(Tailor and Francis Online; https://www.tandfonline.com, 2016-06-07)The Okavango Delta depends on water quantity and quality to sustain its ecosystem services. Whereas many studies have been carried out on its hydrology, few have been done on water quality in the delta. Water pH, electrical ... -
Influence of the annual flood-pulse on catch per unit effort, condition and reproduction of Clarias gariepinus from the upper Okavango Delta, Botswana
(Tailor and Francis Online; https://www.tandfonline.com, 2016-03-07)Catch per unit effort (CPUE), length, weight and maturity data for Clarias gariepinus were collected during monthly gillnet surveys in the upper Okavango Delta between 2001 and 2009 to investigate their relationship with ... -
Effects of divergent migratory strategies on access to resources for Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer)
(Oxford University Press; https://academic.oup.com, 2016-12-05)Populations of large herbivores frequently display divergent migratory strategies, a likely consequence of the trade-off between the costs and benefits of migration. Globally, physical and environmental barriers disrupt ... -
Water use practices, water quality, and households' diarrheal encounters in communities along the Boro-Thamalakane-Boteti river system, Northern Botswana
(BioMed Central; https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com, 2015-11-18)Abstract Background: Some rural African communities residing along rivers use the untreated river water for domestic purposes, making them vulnerable to waterborne diseases such as diarrhea. Methods: We determined water ... -
The role of vegetation in the Okavango Delta silica sink
(Springer Link; https://link.springer.com, 2014-12-16)We assessed the role of vegetation and hydrology in the Si cycle in the Okavango Delta. Our results show a large storage of biogenic Si (BSi) in vegetation and the sediments. The biological storage is among the highest ... -
Ecotourism in Botswana: 30 years later
(Tailor and Francis Online; https://www.tandfonline.com, 2015-08-10)Thirty years ago, conservationists, host communities, academics, and tourism practitioners perceived ecotourism as a panacea to conservation and poverty problems in tourism destination areas, especially in developing ... -
Water quality dynamics in the Boro-Thamalakane-Boteti river system, northern Botswana
(Tailor and Francis Online; https://www.tandfonline.com, 2014-11-11)The quality of water in aquatic systems is subject to temporal and spatial variations due to varying effects of natural and anthropogenic factors. This study assessed the dynamics of water ... -
Flood variation and soil nutrient content in floodplain vegetation communities in the Okavango Delta
(South African Journal of Science; http://www.scielo.org.za, 2014-02)We investigated the influence of hydroperiod variation on soil nutrient content in the Okavango Delta seasonal floodplains. Soil samples were collected from eight zones of homogenous vegetation cover after low and high ... -
Herbivore size matters for productivity-richness relationships in African savannas
(British Ecological Society, https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/, 2017-05)Productivity and herbivory often interact to shape plant community composition and species richness with levels of production mediating the impact of herbivory. However, differences in herbivore traits such as size, feeding ... -
Interactions between flooding and upland disturbance drives species diversity in large river floodplains
(Springer International Publishing Switzerland, 2016-02-10)Understanding and predicting vegetation patterns in floodplains are essential for conservation and/or restoration of river floodplains subject to hydrological alterations. We propose a conceptual hydroecological model to ... -
Fire frequency drives habitat selection by a diverse herbivore guild impacting top–down control of plant communities in an African savanna
(Nordic Society Oikos, www.nordicsocietyoikos.org/, 2016)In areas with diverse herbivore communities such as African savannas, the frequency of disturbance by fire may alter the top–down role of different herbivore species on plant community dynamics. In a seven year experiment ... -
Tree–grass competition along a catenal gradient in a mesic grassland, South Africa
(Wiley Online Library; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com, 2014-03-03)The interaction, both above and belowground, between tree saplings and the surrounding grass sward is dependent on solar radiation, temperature, rainfall, soil depth, tree species and sward composition. These factors, ... -
Classical fisheries theory and inland (floodplain) fisheries management; is there need for a paradigm shift? lessons from the Okavango Delta, Botswana
(Fisheries and Aquaculture Journal; https://www.omicsonline.org, 2014-07-29)This paper reviews the fisheries management question of inland (floodplain) systems in the developing world and proposes a paradigm shift in approach. Inland fisheries management is largely based on classical fisheries ... -
Soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and sulphur as affected by different land uses in Seronga, Okavango Delta, Botswana
(Sciencedomain international; www.sciencedomain.org, 2014-02-06)Aim: The Okavango Delta at Seronga is fragmented into different land uses ranging from grasslands to woodland (Ximenia and mopane), often punctuated with cropped and fallow fields. The influence of land uses on surface (A1 ... -
Influence of flooding variation on Molapo farming field size in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
(International Journal of Agricultural Research and Review; http://www.springjournals.net/ijarr, 2014-02)In the Okavango Delta of Botswana, flood recession farming (molapo farming) contributes substantially to rural livelihoods by providing better yields than rain-fed dry land farming. However, molapo farming communities ...