Our Projects

Phenological studies have been used for centuries, particularly in agriculture, and are useful to determine species-level responses to climate among other long-term variations. A previous study of phenology at the Tierberg Karoo Research Centre (now Tierberg Long-Term Ecological Research), focussed on how life form and landscape location influenced growth and flowering. In 2017 SAEON started […]
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In 2019 Eddy covariance instruments were mounted on a flux tower in the EFTEON KIMTRI Landscape at Benfontein Nature Reserve just east of Kimberley. These instruments measure various atmospheric parameters. An understanding of the landscape in the flux tower footprint is necessary to interpret the data collected by the instruments. To describe the vegetation within […]
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Goegap Nature Reserve is a provincial nature reserve (36 960 ha) located south east of Springbok in the Northern Cape Province. It falls within the Succulent Karoo Biome. The first long term line transects (descending point method) were established in 1974, followed by the establishment of numerous additional transects in the 1990’s and 2000 – […]
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The Tanqua Karoo National Park is approximately 150 000 ha in size. A need was identified for a tool to guide park management, and accordingly, the concept of a landscape unit was tested. Landscape units were identified and described over the entire park. These landscape units were associated with vegetation units and numerous environmental parameters […]
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Vaalbos National Park was deproclaimed in 2003 and is now communally owned and managed. Open-cast diamond mining and communal farming now take place on this land. Populations of various game species are still present on the property. Vegetation monitoring has taken place since 1991. Since 2011, the Arid Lands Node and SANParks have collaborated on […]
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South Africa’s most arid wetland systems are found in the Northern Cape Province. These systems, colloquially known as pans, depend exclusively on rainfall or flooding events for their existence. Given the variable climate typically associated with arid environments, these pans are desiccated for years. It is surprising that even though wetlands in arid environments are […]
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Trials with four different sheep stocking rates were initiated at the Carnarvon Agricultural Experimental Plots during 1988 by the Department of Agriculture. Vegetation cover has subsequently been monitored periodically by the provincial and national Department of Agriculture. In addition, a plot-based plant diversity assessment was conducted by SAEON in May 2015. Key findings by Van […]
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The world’s longest running field grazing trials were initiated in the Eastern Karoo during 1934 with sheep at Camp-6 by the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute (GADI). These sites are situated near the Eastern Cape Town of Middelburg. Other trials were later established at Seligman Old Fields and Bergkamp. As grass began increasing, rotational grazing of […]
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The Square Kilometre Array is situated near the town of Carnarvon, in the central part of South Africa known as the Bushmanland, within the Nama Karoo Biome. This area is largely unstudied and thus very little is known of the biotic and abiotic elements present in the landscape. As a result, even less is known […]
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Historically, fire rarely occurred in the Karoo, and it was thought that plant species would therefore not be well adapted to fire. However, with grass abundance increasing in some Karoo areas, risks of fire have been increasing. Experimental burning was conducted at Tierberg in 2006 by igniting straw in order to study changes in natural […]
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