THE DISTRIBUTION OF C3 AND C4 PLANTS IN A SUCCESSIONAL SEQUENCE IN THE OKAVANGO DELTA

Carbon isotope techniques were used to determine the photosynthetic pathway of a number of wetland plant species. The relative cover abundances Of C3 and C4 plants were compared along a successional sequence of the Maunachira River system of the Okavango Delta. Plants with a C3 photosynthetic pathway were dominant in early successional stages and C4 plants were dominant in late successional stages. It is proposed that nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen limitation, could be a determinant of the change from C3 to C4 plant dominance du ring succession.