Response of a seasonal floodplain vegetation communities and soil nutrient status to flood variation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Abstract

Globally many seasonal floodplain ecosystems experience flooding regime variation leading to variation in vegetation community composition and distribution and soil nutrient status. The Okavango Delta natural flooding variation is ecologically important for biodiversity sustenance. In some years (and also sequences of years) the Okavango Delta receives low floods while it receives high floods in others. While this natural flood variability is significant for the ecological functioning of the Okavango Delta, its relationships with seasonal floodplain vegetation community composition and distribution have not been adequately investigated. It is not yet known how flooding variation associated with climate variability affects seasonal floodplain vegetation community composition and distribution, and soil nutrient status, in the Okavango Delta. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of flooding variation on seasonal floodplain vegetation communities and soil nutrient status.