The share of woody vegetation has increased throughout the entire world for the last 100 years. Across different bioclimatic zones, woody plants have displaced grasses and while trees dominate humid regions, unpalatable shrubs proliferate in arid regions. This is considered a type of degradation (Archer et al. 2017). About 40% of Africa’s surface area is covered by savanna ecosystems. The characteristic vegetation is large Acacia trees scattered in grasslands. The expansion of human activity and land uses has considerably changed many of these landscapes. Major environmental drivers including herbivory, fire, precipitation, nutrients and human activity have caused proportions of trees and grasses to shift (Tews et al. 2004). Woody or bush encroachment is the increasing abundance of woody plantsin savannas causing changes in grasslands, the natural vegetation composition and herbaceous cover (Lesoli et al. 2013). Bush encroachment has been a threat to Southern African rangelands for almost 100 years when the increase of Acacia was first described by Bews in 1917 (O'Connor et al. 2014). Encroaching woody species compromise ecosystem stability, impair productivity of rangelands and erode natural capital (Lesoli et al. 2013).