The investigation was conducted in a savanna area covered by what was considered an undesirably dense stand of Colophospermum mopane trees, mainly because such a dense stand of trees often results in the suppression of herbaceous plants. The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of intensity of tree thinning on the dry matter yield of herbaceous plants(notably grasses) and to investigate differences in herbaceous species composition between defined subhabitats (under tree canopies, between tree canopies and where trees have been removed).