Marc Jolivet, Mike Murray-Hudson, Kaelo Makati, Olivier Dauteuil, Louis Gaudare
{"title":"The Dead Forest of Chiefs Island: Soil Water Logging from Major Floods and Rainfalls Drive Rapid Vegetation Change in the Okavango Delta (Botswana)","authors":"Marc Jolivet, Mike Murray-Hudson, Kaelo Makati, Olivier Dauteuil, Louis Gaudare","doi":"10.1007/s13157-024-01804-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The flood-controlled Okavango Delta in Botswana is an endoreic alluvial fan system developing within the arid to semi-arid Kalahari Desert. The Delta sustains a unique association of ecosystems, from rivers to floodplains, riverine forests to savanna forests. This complex environment is nearly pristine from anthropic activity but its preservation, especially in the face of global change, requires a detailed understanding of the functioning and evolution of its ecosystems. In this work we describe extensive tree dieback in the savanna forest of southern Chiefs Island, the largest permanently emerged island of the Delta. While tree dieback is generally linked to drought, extreme temperatures, fire or increased biotic attacks, we suggest that the destruction in the years 2009–2012 of the <i>Acacia</i> sp. and <i>Colophospernum mopane</i> dominated forest unexpectedly results from drowning through soil water logging associated to a series of successive exceptional floods and abundant rainfall seasons. This result highlights the necessity of transdisciplinary studies in understanding the autogenic functioning of the Delta as a prerequisite to describe the effects of global change.</p>","PeriodicalId":23640,"journal":{"name":"Wetlands","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Wetlands","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01804-9","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The flood-controlled Okavango Delta in Botswana is an endoreic alluvial fan system developing within the arid to semi-arid Kalahari Desert. The Delta sustains a unique association of ecosystems, from rivers to floodplains, riverine forests to savanna forests. This complex environment is nearly pristine from anthropic activity but its preservation, especially in the face of global change, requires a detailed understanding of the functioning and evolution of its ecosystems. In this work we describe extensive tree dieback in the savanna forest of southern Chiefs Island, the largest permanently emerged island of the Delta. While tree dieback is generally linked to drought, extreme temperatures, fire or increased biotic attacks, we suggest that the destruction in the years 2009–2012 of the Acacia sp. and Colophospernum mopane dominated forest unexpectedly results from drowning through soil water logging associated to a series of successive exceptional floods and abundant rainfall seasons. This result highlights the necessity of transdisciplinary studies in understanding the autogenic functioning of the Delta as a prerequisite to describe the effects of global change.
期刊介绍:
Wetlands is an international journal concerned with all aspects of wetlands biology, ecology, hydrology, water chemistry, soil and sediment characteristics, management, and laws and regulations. The journal is published 6 times per year, with the goal of centralizing the publication of pioneering wetlands work that has otherwise been spread among a myriad of journals. Since wetlands research usually requires an interdisciplinary approach, the journal in not limited to specific disciplines but seeks manuscripts reporting research results from all relevant disciplines. Manuscripts focusing on management topics and regulatory considerations relevant to wetlands are also suitable. Submissions may be in the form of articles or short notes. Timely review articles will also be considered, but the subject and content should be discussed with the Editor-in-Chief (NDSU.wetlands.editor@ndsu.edu) prior to submission. All papers published in Wetlands are reviewed by two qualified peers, an Associate Editor, and the Editor-in-Chief prior to acceptance and publication. All papers must present new information, must be factual and original, and must not have been published elsewhere.