Mopane woodlands, with Colophospermum mopane as the dominant tree species, are mostly confined to the lower lying areas on heavier textured soils in the wide, flat valley bottoms of lower Okavango, Cunene, Zambezi, Shire, Limpopo and Luanga in southern Angola, northern Namibia, northern Botswana, Zimbabwe, northern South Africa, southern Zambia, southern Malawi and south central Mozambique (Timberlake et al. 2010). It occurs at an elevation of 200-1,200 m although normally it ranges between 300 and 900 m. The rainfall in these areas ranges from 400 to 700 mm per year, although the species itself may be found in drier areas in north­western Namibia (Timberlake et al. 2010). Sometimes the woodland forms pure stands of Colophospermum mopane. Mopane woodland can be 10-20 m tall, with stands up to 25 m, but in some areas scrub mopane of 2-3 m tall covers extensive areas, in mosaic with taller stands (Geldenhuys and Golding 2008). It is capable of growing under a range of climatic and edaphic conditions but is restricted in distribution by fires and competition from other species (Geldenhuys and Golding 2008). Mopane has a shallow root system with a dense concentration of fine roots in the top soil (Fanshawe 1971). Some scattered Munga woodland elements occur in places represented chiefly by Acacia nigrescens, Adansonia digitata, Combretum imberbe, Kirkia acuminata and Lannea stuhlmannii. The canopy dominants are Colophospermum mopane, Acacia luedertzii, Acacia nigrescens, Adansonia dig — itata, Afzelia quanzensis, Albizia harveyi, Albizia amara, Brachystegia boehmii,

Combretum imberbe, Hyphaene ventricosa, Kirkia acuminata, Lannea stulhmannii, Philenoptera violacea, Pterocarpus angolensis, Sclerocarya birrea and Strychnos potatorum.