Magkadigkadi Pans Central District, Botswana Photograph by WWF/ R.D. Taylor   Southern Africa: Northern Botswana Flooded Grasslands and Savannas   11,700 square miles (30,400 square kilometers) -- about the size of Maryland and Delaware combined Vulnerable

· Pans of Life
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Pans of Life

The Makgadikgadi salt pans sit in an ancient depression that once held an enormous lake covering much of the northern portion of Botswana. In the dry season, the flat salt pans are completely dried out and crusted with cracked pale clay. When the rains come, shallow pools begin to form and the area sometimes floods, providing important wetlands for birds and waterholes for migrating species. Salt marshes dot the outer edges of the pans and are in turn surrounded by grasslands, scrub savanna, and, finally, tree savanna.

Special Features

The salt pans are located in a very arid region that may get little or no rain at all in any given year. When the rains arrives, the landscape comes alive, transforming into beautiful grass plains filled with herds of grazing animals and flocks of colorful birds. Because of the extreme flux this ecoregion goes though, it is very important for its many seasonal visitors but supports few year-round inhabitants.

	Barbel fish have adapted to drought in an amazing way. During the dry season, they bury themselves in the mud, where they can survive for months at a time. When the waters return at the start of the summer, the fish leave their muddy homes and swim away to breed.

Wild Side

When the rains fill the salt pans with water, this ecoregion explodes with life. Migrating ducks, geese, and white pelicans rest at the water’s edge, and greater flamingos use the pans as breeding grounds. Herds of antelope, gemsbok, and blue wildebeest can be found on the grass plains, attracting predators such as hyenas and jackals. Several species of bat flit above the pools, attracted by the insects that hatch in the waters. The cycles of life in these seasonal waters are brief. Crustaceans here have adapted to using the brief periods of rain to their advantage and will either leave the area during the dry period or bury themselves in the thick mud until the next rains come.

Cause for Concern

Much of this ecoregion is protected as part of the Magkadikgadi National Park. However, human water use is a problem here. During the wet season, people divert the fresh water flowing into the pans for irrigation.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.