Kalahari Bushveld

Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands ecoregion

WWF AT0709

Map
Also see Kalahari desert

This is a very dry area. Surface water is scarce. Droughts occur in seven year cycles. Most of the region consists of sandveld (i.e. sandy).

There are three valleys (Deception, Quoxo, and Groot Laagte) which drain into the Great Kalahari Lake. The Boteti River flows out of the Okavango Delta into the Makgadikgadi Pans. Due to massive evaporation and the sand substrate of the delta only about 5 percent of the inflow flow out of the Okavango Delta. Over the past 10 years almost no water flowed into the Boteti River.

• Location
• Elevation
• Area
• Nature Reserves
• Climate
• Geology
• Vegetation
• Mammals
• Birds
• Amphibians
• Reptiles

Location

The region covers the area between

• Tuli Block of South Africa (Northern Cape)
• northern Namibia
• Bostwana
  • northwards between the Okavango Delta and the Makgadikgadi Pans towards the border of the Chobe Nature Reserve
  • east to Zimbabwe

Elevation

Elevation is about 1'000 m with little variation. Landscape is flat with the exception of scattered granite hills which rise to just above 1'300 m

• central area
  • Tsau Hill
  • Khwebe Hill
• northwest
  • Tsodilo Hill
  • Aha Hill
  • Gcwihaba Hill
• hardveld
  • Mokgware Hill
  • Tswapong Hill
  • Shoshong Hill

Area

335'500 square kilometers

Nature Reserves

Nature Reserves found in this ecoregion are:

• Central Kalahari Game Reserve (Botswana)
• Khaudom Game Reserve (Namibia)

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Climate

• Rainfall
  • annual: 300 mm (southwest) to 600 mm (north)
• Temperature
  • mean maximum temperature: 27° - 30°C
  • mean minimum temperature: 9° - 12°C
  • June and July temperatures can drop below 0°C
  • summer temperatures may exceed 40°C

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Geology

• Kalahari Sand covers most of the area
• It is up to 150m deep and has poor water retention
• southeast the sandveld changes into the hardveld, an undulating plain which varies in elevation from 1'000 m - 1'150 m

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Vegetation

In the drier south vegatation consists of sparse, shrubby, Acacias. In the wetter north vegatation becomes savanna or woodland dominated by Baikiaea plurijuga and changes into the Zambezian Baikiaea Woodland ecoregion. In the southeast the region borders the Southern African Bushveld.

The rivers are dry and may carry water for only a few weeks per year, but they have reliable groundwater. The Mhalatswe River and Lotsane River are the largest rivers and drain into the Limpopo River, which is also a dry river.

• Taller trees (confined to low sand ridges)
  • Terminalia sericea
  • Burkea africana
  • Peltophorum africanum
  • Croton gratissimus
  • Rhus tenuinervis
  • Acacia giraffe
  • Acacia. fleckii
  • Acacia luederitzii
  • Cobretum zeyheri
  • Cobretum apiculatum
  • Ziziphus mucronata
• shrub savanna (on the gently rolling plains between the sand ridges)
  • Dichrostachys cinerea
  • Grewia flava
  • Grewia flavescens
  • Acacia mellifera
  • Bauhinia macrantha
  • Ximenia caffra
  • Commiphora pyracanthoides
• grass
  • Stipagrostis uniplumis
  • Aristida meridionalis
  • Aristida congesta
  • Eragrostis pallens
  • Eragrostis superba
  • Heteropogon contortus
  • Cymbopogon excavatus
  • Digitaria eriantha

West of the Okavango Delta and northeast Namibia:

• tree savanna
  • Baikiaea plurijuga (most common)
  • Colophospermum mopane
  • Burkea africana
• shrubs
  • Baphia massaiensis
  • Bauhinia petersiana
  • Paropsia brazzeana
• grass
  • Aristida meridionalis
  • Aristida congesta
  • Eragrostis pallens
  • Eragrostis lehmanniana
  • Baikiaea plurijuga (Caesalpinaceae)

Hardveld (southeast of the ecoregion) Around the town of Phalapye

• trees
  • Colophospermum mopane
  • Acacia nigrescens, Terminalia prunioides
  • Combretum imberbe
• shrubs
  • Dichrostachys cinerea
  • Mayenus cymosa
  • Grewia flava
• grasses
  • Cenchrus ciliaris
  • Digitaria milanjiana
  • Eragrostis spp.
  • Dichanthium papillosum

Around the town of Phalapye

• trees
  • Terminalia sericea dominates
  • west of the town:
    • Acacia nigrescens dominates
    • Sclerocarya caffra
    • Peltophorum africanum
    • Acacia giraffe
    • Combretum imberbe
• smaller trees
  • Combretum apiculatum
  • Combretum molle
  • Terminalia sericea
  • Acacia tortillis
  • Dichrostachys cinerea
  • Grewia flava
  • Grewia retinervis
  • Grewia tenax
• grass
  • Panicum maximum
  • Digitaria eriantha
  • Eragrostis lehmanniana
• grass south of the town of Mahalapye:
  • Combretum imberbe
  • Peltophorum africanum
• shrub
  • Combretum hereroense
  • Dichrostachys cinerea
  • Acacia tortilis
  • Grewia flava

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Mammals

Herbivores undertake seasonal migrations, especially during droughts.

• herbivores
  • Blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)
  • eland (Taurotragus oryx)
  • zebra (Equus burchelli)
  • buffalo (Syncerus caffer)
  • hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus)
• white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)
• black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)
• elephants (Loxodonta africana)
• smal predators
  • African civet (Civettictis civetta)
  • serval (Felis serval)
• large predators
  • lion (Panthera leo)
  • cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
  • leopard (Panthera pardus)
  • African wild dog (Lycaon pictus)
  • brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea)
  • spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

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Birds

468 species have been recorded

• near-endemic
  • Bradfield’s hornbill (Tockus bradfieldi) found in Mopane woodlands
  • blackfaced babbler (Turdoides melanops) found in the area west of the Okavango Delta and extending into Namibia in the understory of broad-leafed and mixed Acacia woodlands
• lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotus)

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Amphibians

There are 31 amphibian species

Reptiles

92 reptile species

• near-endemic: six reptile species e.g.
  • Kalahari purple-glossed snake (Amblyodipsas ventrimaculata)
  • Kalahari ground gecko (Colopus wahlbergii)
  • Leonard’s spade-snouted worm lizard (Monopeltis leonhardi)
• endemic (only on the Tsodilo hills in the northwest)
  • Tsodilo gecko (Pachydactylus tsodiloensis)

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