4.02 BIOMES AND VEGETATION TYPES IN NAMIBIA - BIOMES

Data ID

Description:

5 biomes of Namibia

Chapter:

4 Living Resources

File path:

\\Carole\d\atlas\Atlas_Data\4_Living_Resources\4.02 biomes and vegetation types in Namibia

File name:

biomes in Namibia

File type:

ArcView shapefile

Geographical area:

Namibia

Keywords:

biomes

vegetation

ecology

Notes on data, analysis and

The shapefile is mainly based on the map of White (F. Bourliere (1983). Ecosystems of the world. No.13. Tropical

compilation:

savannas. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam. 730 pp). However, the terminology and map boundaries

of some units in the southern and northern parts have been slightly adapted according to the biome map of southern

Africa by Rutherford & Westfall (1994) (M.C. Rutherford & R.H. Westfall (1994). Biomes of Southern Africa: An

objective categorization. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa. (63): 94 pp).

The biome map of Namibia by Irish (J. Irish (1994). The biomes of Namibia, as determined by objective categorization.

Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum Bloemfontein. 10(13): 549-592) and an ecoregions map by Bailey in

Groomsbridge (1992). (B. Groombridge (1992). Global biodiversity: Status of the Earth’s living resources. From the

World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Chapman & Hall, London. 585 pp)

Biome boundaries were made to fit exactly with the associated vegetation type boundaries (Fig 4.02).

Data quality and organisation

Positional Accuracy:

Very generalised

Vector/Raster:

Vector

Spatial reference

Projection:

Geographic

Fields

Field name

Field description

BIOME

Biome name

Source/Distribution

Data Source:

Wynand du Plessis

Distribution notes:

Unrestricted

4.02 BIOMES AND VEGETATION TYPES IN NAMIBIA - SUB-BIOMES

Data ID

Description:

2 sub-biomes of Namibia

Chapter:

4 Living Resources

File path:

\\Carole\d\atlas\Atlas_Data\4_Living_Resources\4.02 biomes and vegetation types in Namibia

File name:

sub-biomes in Namibia

File type:

ArcView shapefile

Geographical area:

Namibia

Keywords:

biomes

vegetation

ecology

Notes on data, analysis and

Division of Tree-and-Shrub Savanna biome into Broad-leafed Tree-and-Shrub Savanna and Acacia Tree-and-Shrub

compilation:

Savanna

Data quality and organisation

Positional Accuracy:

Very generalised

Vector/Raster:

Vector

Spatial reference

Projection:

Geographic

Fields

Field name

Field description

ID	Polyline ID

Source/Distribution

Data Source:

Atlas of Namibia

Distribution notes:

Unrestricted

4.02 BIOMES AND VEGETATION TYPES IN NAMIBIA - VEGETATION TYPES

Data ID

Description:

Generalised vegetation types

Chapter:

4 Living Resources

File path:

\\Carole\d\atlas\Atlas_Data\4_Living_Resources\4.02 biomes and vegetation types in Namibia

File name:

vegetation type

File type:

ArcView shapefile

Geographical area:

Namibia

Keywords:

vegetation

types

Notes on data, analysis and

The compilation of this map by Antje Burke, Wynand du Plessis & Ben Strohbach was based on existing information

compilation:

available from:

1) Giess’ preliminary vegetation map (1971)

2) published vegetation maps for parts of the country (Leser 1972; Viljoen 1980; Williamson 1997)

3) vegetation maps recently completed as part of regional environmental profiles (Hines in Mendelsohn & Roberts

1997; Mendelsohn et al. 2000; Burke 2000)

4) vegetation mapping project at the National Botanical Research Institute (Strohbach in press)

5) vegetation survey information at the Etosha Ecological Institute (le Roux et al. 1988; Sannier et al. 1995, 1998; du

Plessis 1999, 2000)

6) the Agro-ecological zones project at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development (de Pauw & Coetzee

1999).

This new vegetation map is consequently a product of review and synthesis. The background information available for

this review differed significantly in terms of (a) date, (b) coverage, (c) scale and accuracy of mapping, (d) format (e)

quality and quantity of accompanying data. Although this map provides more detail than the preliminary vegetation

map of 1971, policy makers, conservation and resource planners, and whoever wishes to use the map for further

analysis are cautioned to take these short-comings into account.

The broad Vegetation Types present ecologically similar map units, largely controlled by climate, topography and

underlying substrate. For example, the dwarf succulent shrubland of the southern Namib encompasses a diverse mosaic of

dwarf shrubland and shrubland communities with different plant species dominant in different parts of this area.

Burke, A. 2000. The vegetation of Kavango. Report for Environmental Profiles Programme, Ministry of Environment

and Tourism.

du Plessis, W. P. 1999. Linear regression relationships between NDVI, vegetation and rainfall in Etosha National Park,

Namibia. Journal of Arid Environments. 42: 235-260.

du Plessis, W.P. 2000. Green vegetation biomass imagery of Namibia derived from NOAA AVHRR satellite data.

Unpublished data, Etosha Ecological Institute.

de Pauw, E. & Coetzee, M.E. 1999. Production of an agro-ecological zones map of Namibia. Agricola 10: 27-44.

Edwards, D. 1984. A broad-scale structural classification of vegetation for practical purposes. Bothalia 14:705-712.

Giess, W. 1971. A preliminary vegetation map of South West Africa. Dinteria 4:5-114.

Leser, H. 1972. Geoökologische Verhältnisse der Plflanzengesellschaften in den Savannen des Sandveldes um den

Schwarzen Nossob und um Epikuru. Dinteria 6: 1-44.

le Roux, C.J.G., J.O. Grunow, J.W. Morris, G.J. Bredenkamp & J.C. Scheepers. (1988). A classification of the vegetation

of the Etosha National Park. South African Journal of Botany. 54(1); 1-10.

Mendelsohn, J. & Roberts, C. 1997. An Environmental Profile and Atlas of Caprivi. Environmental Profiles Project,

Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Windhoek.

Mendelsohn, J. el Obeid, S. & Roberts, C. 2000. A profile of North-Central Namibia .Environmental Profiles Project,

Directorate of Environmental Affairs, Windhoek.

Rutherford, M.C. & Westfall, R.H. 1994. Biomes of southern Africa: an objective

categorization. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Afr. Vol. 63.

Sannier, C.A.D., Taylor, J.C., du Plessis, W.P. & Campbell, K. 1998. Real-time vegetation monitoring with

NOAA-AVHRR in Southern Africa for wildlife management and food security assessment. Int. J. Remote Sensing. 19(4):

621-639.

Sannier, C., Taylor J.C. & du Plessis, W.P. 1995. Structural vegetation classification of Etosha National Park using

Landsat TM satellite imagery at 30m resolution. Unpublished data & maps – Silsoe College, U.K. & Etosha Ecological

Institute, Namibia

Strohbach, B. in press. Vegetation survey of Namibia. J. Namibian Scientific Society, in press.

Williamson, G. 1997. Preliminary account of the Floristic Zones of the Sperrgebiet (Protected Diamond Area) in

southwest Namibia. Dinteria 25:1-68.

Data quality and organisation

Positional Accuracy:

Variable - see notes on data analysis and compilation and accuracy fields

Vector/Raster:

Vector

Spatial reference

Projection:

Geographic

Fields

Field name

Field description

	VEG_TYPE		Vegetation type name
CODE		Vegetation unit code

BIOME

Biome name

TREE_COV

Percentage tree cover

TREE_HGT

Tree height (m)

SHRUB_COV

Percentage shrub cover

SHRUB_HGT

Shrub height (m)

DW_SHR_COV

Percentage dwarf shrub cover

DW_SHR_HGT

Dwarf shrub height (m)

GRASS_COV

Percentage grass cover

GRASS_HGT

Grass height (m)

DOMINANT_1

Dominant plant species 1

DOMINANT_2

Dominant plant species 2

DOMINANT_3

Dominant plant species 3

DOMINANT_4

Dominant plant species 4

DOMINANT_5

Dominant plant species 5

DOMINANT_6

Dominant plant species 6

DOMINANT_7

Dominant plant species 7

DOMINANT_8

Dominant plant species 8

ACC_DATA

Accuracy of the data used to create the shapefile

ACC_MAP

Accuarcy of digitising

Source/Distribution

Data Source:

Antje Burke, Wynand du Plessis & Ben Strohbach

Contact:

Antje Burke

Online/Offline Address:

Antje.burke@enviro-science.info

Distribution notes:

Unrestricted