Phenology and mortality of common woody plants during and after severe drought in south-eastern Zimbabwe.

Abstract

The phenological patterns of 14 woody species that are common components of deciduous woodland in a southern African lowveld region were studied in the Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. Biweekly assessments of the number of leaf buds, young, mature and dead leaves, flower buds, open flowers, unripe and ripe fruits showed a gradual deterioration in the food supply in a season of low rainfall. Production of vegetation followed a simila, but less marked, pattern of environmental variation. The tree population in the major vegetation types declined because a large proportion of the woody species was killed during the 1991-92 drought. This suggests that climatic extremes are more important to plants than the average conditions.


Transactions of the Zimbabwe Scientific AssociationVolume 72 1998, pp. 1-6