The vegetation communities of the Save Valley Conservancy in southeastern Zimbabwe

Vegetation maps are critical tools for the effective management of savanna ecosystems. To inform conservationplanning, we mapped, classified and described the diverse vegetation of the Save Valley Conservancy in southeasternZimbabwe. We utilised a combination of intensive field surveys across 310 sample plots and supervised objectbased image analysis of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. To assess the environmental drivers of vegetation distribution,we analysed 20 topoedaphic and landscape variables using principal component analysis and linear discriminantanalysis. We identified 25 distinct vegetation types, recording a total of 315 plant species (247 woody and68 herbaceous). The landscape was predominantly characterised by woodland communities, with Colophospermummopane being the most extensive. In accordance with the Plant Available Moisture and Available Nutrients framework,soil physical and chemical properties, specifically clay content, exchangeable base cations and available phosphorus,were identified as the primary bottom-up environmental determinants sorting the plant communities. However,our findings indicate that edaphic constraints alone are insufficient to explain the present vegetation patterns andstructural heterogeneity observed across the conservancy. The current, highly variable structural state of thesewoodlands reflects an active ecological trajectory driven by intense top-down disturbances, specifically the legacyof historical cattle ranching and fire suppression (driving widespread shrub densification) compounded by a rapidlygrowing elephant population. Establishing the spatial distribution of the conservancy’s vegetation and understandingthis dynamic interplay between bottom-up soil constraints and top-down disturbance regimes provides a criticalscientific foundation for informed management decisions, particularly regarding fire planning, wildlife stocking ratesand the targeted mitigation of bush encroachment.