Standing crops of dominant combretum species at three browsing levels in the Kruger National Park

Abstract

In red bushwillow veld near the Sand River in the Kruger National Park, Republic of South Africa, a determination was made of the standing crops of Combretum apiculatum and C. zeyheri at browsing levels delineated by the maximum feeding heights of impala (1,5 m), kudu (2,5 m) and giraffe (5,5 m). Using harvested sample trees, logarithmic or linear regression equations were generated which related basal diameter or stem height to biomass or percentage of total biomass at the different levels. Biomass was divided into two components: current shoots and wood plus bark. Regression forms and variables which produced the highest correlation coefficients changed with changes in species or browsing level, however, most equations were logarithmic with basal diameter as the independent variable.