ABSTRACT
Botswanan biomass resources strongly reflect the two main constraints on vegetation growth in the country: the sparsity and seasonality of rainfall; and the low moisture-holding capacities of sandy soils. The vegetation types in the country range from restricted occurrences of highly productive riparian woodlands to bare salt pans. Areally, the greatest proportion of biomass resources lie in the woodlands, bushlands and shrublands. Dense closedcanopy woodlands, which as water resources become scarcer take on a more open nature, are found in the north. Lanly (1981) suggests such woodlands are not areally significant in Botswana, but this study suggests they account for 6.8% of the country. As water becomes scarcer still, there is an increase in the proportion of shrubs, and woodlands grade into bushland and shrubland.
