Central-northern Namibia is home to an approximate 43% of the country’s population, a large
proportion of which still depends directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. The main
land use in this area is agro-silvo-pastoralism i.e. a combination of subsistence farming and
silvi-culture. The few phytosociological and biodiversity data available in Namibia are not
substantial to motivate environmental management and sustainable utilization of the
country’s natural wealth. The Vegetation Survey Project of Namibia coupled with the BIOTA
southern Africa Project therefore share a common goal of re-classifying Namibian vegetation
by building on the Preliminary Vegetation Map of Namibia of 1971 and the Homogenous
Framing Areas Report of 1979.
The vegetation of Omusati and Oshana regions which are situated in the Mopanne Savanna in
central-northern Namibia was classified and described by subjecting 415 relevés to
multivariate analysis i.e. classification and ordination. The geographical distribution of these
community types was established by supervised classification of satellite data of the study
area. Data collected in this study will be used for hypothesis generation of further ecological
investigations while the map can be used for planning and conservation of vegetation
resources in the area.