Alluvial plain habitats

sb     Sand banks along major rivers, mostly inundated at some time during the rains.
gr     Flood channel, abandoned channel, back plain. Heavy cracking clay soil (vertisol) which is seasonally inundated or waterlogged. Low termite mounds often occur around the margins of the more extensive plains.
lv     Levee of major rivers and the ridges of point bar deposits, belts of sandy soil within the alluvial plain. Coarse or free draining sand, only inundated in extremely high floods and then for a short time.
mc     Mopane (Colophospermum mopane) woodland on black or brown clay soil. Small tree-less pans often occur within the woodlands.
ms     Mopane woodland on sandy soils which are variable in depth, but shallow over a hard pan. Usually there are low-lying termite mounds within the woodlands on which the mopane trees are clumped; the inter-mound spaces are wetter and waterlogged for short periods during the rains. This category also includes shrub or scrub mopane in which the trees form a shrubland or low woodland. Shrub mopane occurs in small areas within the woodlands, generally only a few hectares in extent. Termite mounds do not occur in shrub mopane and the ground cover is sparser than it is in the woodlands on sand.
th     Thicket. These occur on free-draining alluvial sands and also on large termite mounds lying within other vegetation types. Thickets are more extensive in the southern sections of the SLNP where they are probably botanically distinct from those to the north.
aq     Aquatic vegetation. Relatively few of the oxbow lakes in the Luangwa River meander belt have permanent water; most become dry a few years after being cut-off and are then refilled during the next high flood. In addition to these lakes, annual pools of variable depth and extent occur within the point-bar deposits.

Habitats on the low hills above the alluvial plain extending to the Muchinga escarpment

lh     On low interfluves. Either highly dissected terrain with a dendritic drainage pattern or flat and poorly drained. The former terrain often has a surface carpet of stones on the crests of the low, rounded hills. The soil is derived from siltstone and is clay or clay loam, often mottled, indicating impeded drainage.
vh     Valley heads and pans. Tree-less grassy areas occur along lines in the flatter terrain which occurs on sandstone. These drainage lines are locally known as “dambos” and are of variable width and soil type. Grass covered pans also occur in which the soils are typically sandy loam. Surface water is only found for short periods during the rains but throughout the rains the soils are usually water-logged. The vegetation is often zoned along the drainage lines, this zonation reflecting differences in degree and length of inundation.
Re     Ridges and escarpment. The Muchinga escarpment is a well-defined feature to the west of the Luangwa valley but occurs within the SLNP only to the south of the Kapamba river where the Park boundary follows the lip of the escarpment. The soils are shallow with frequent rock outcrops. The vegetation is sparse miombo woodland. Similar vegetation occurs on the much smaller ridges which mark the presence of Karoo gritstone on the Luangwa valley floor. President Hill is atypical in that it is formed of rock that is not Karoo.
Es     Escarpment stream channels. Most of the streams that flow down the Muchinga escarpment are not perennial but there is usually a marked riparian strip.