From our editor
end of the year has arrived and
T he so has
Issue 4 of Grassroots!
Firstly, we congratulate those mem-
bers who have recently achieved:
•
•
•
Justin du Toit on receiving his PhD
in Grassland Science. His research
focused on the factors influenc-
ing the botanical composition and
functioning of the eastern Karoo
vegetation.
Dave Goodenough on receiving a
prestigious award for his lifelong
commitment to the pasture seed
industry: the Science For a Better
Life Award from the South African
National Seed Organisation (SAN-
SOR) and Bayer.
and Peter Scogings on the pub-
lication of a book titled Savanna
Woody Plants and Large Herbi-
vores.
Please let us know of other GSSA
members who have achieved during
the year and we will highlight them in
our next issue.
The winner for this issue’s photo com-
petition is Michelle Keith. Her photo
of an “Early morning start to vegeta-
tion survey on Ven Africa, Magudu,
KZN”, is printed on the cover page of
Grassroots. Well done Michelle!
This month we introduce something
new to our publication: A grass of the
month – here we provide a fact sheet
of a pasture and rangeland grass spe-
cies to get our readers more familiar
with some of our country’s grasses.
We hope that you enjoy it!
For those who have not subscribed to
Grassroots, please go onto the Grass-
roots webpage (https://grassland.
org.za/publications/grassroots) and
subscribe – you will then be notified,
by email, when the next issue is out.
This is a free subscription and a great
opportunity to keep you up to date
with Grassroots.
As this year draws to an end, the
Grassroots editorial team wish you a
happy festive season and a prosper-
ous 2020. We have appreciated all the
contributions readers have made to
Grassroots and encourage you all to
keep them coming in 2020 – remem-
ber you can now get a single SAC-
NASP CPD point for any Grassroots
article published!
Happy Holidays!
We have two feature articles in this
issue: Craig Morris investigates how
key forbs can indicate the condition
of mesic grasslands and the team of
Happy Msiza and Khuliso Ravhuhali
from the North West University ask
whether bush encroachment in the
Ratlou Municipality in the North West
province is creating a threat to live-
stock production.
We also have a variety of recent news
articles ranging from biomass reduc-
ing erosion rates in the sandy areas to
impacts of elephants on large trees
and solar and wind energy. Finally, the
latest consultation fees from SAC-
NASP are also published in this issue.
Janet
Editorial Committee
Editor
Janet Taylor
Sub-Editors
Malissa Murphy
Christiaan Harmse
Layout and Design
J.C. Aucamp
Administration
Erica Joubert
Contact us
If you have any feedback,
comments, or suggestions,
feel free to contact us at:
[email protected]
Cover Photo
Michelle Keith
Early morning start to
vegetation survey on
Ven Africa, Magudu, KZN
Grassroots photo competition
winner, November 2019.
@GrasslandSociety-
ofSouthernAfrica
Despite the care and attention that we devote to the structure of this newsletter and the information it contains,
the Grassroots Editorial Team cannot guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the data. The opinion expressed in
each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial team.
Grassroots
Vol 19
No 4
November 2019
02