AN EVALUATION OF THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF CERTAIN HABITAT FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PLANT-SPECIES IN THE MANYELETI-GAME-RESERVE

The relative ecological importance of a number of habitat factors was established by using sampling equitability of habitat variables and mutual information between variables and species distribution, as calculated by the ecological profiles technique. Important factors that were distinguished include magnesium, calcium and sodium content of the soil, as well as textural properties such as the coarse sand and clay content. Properties of the B soil horizon were often more important than those of the A horizon.