From our editor
Welcome to Issue 3 of Grassroots for 2020 .
It has been a very unique and challenging year and despite all the challenges , there are still several achievements to celebrate . The Grassroots team is happy to announce that Issue 3 had the highest readership to date and we hope to keep on growing in the years to come . Thanks to everyone who have contributed , those who have shared Grassroots on various platforms , and to all our readers !
Congratulations to a long-time member of the GSSA , Prof Timm Hoffman , who recently received the prestigious Living Planet Award for 2020 from the WWF . It is also with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr Jennifer Russell shortly after being awarded the GSSA ’ s medal for outstanding academic achievement for her PhD in Grassland Science . Our sincere condolences to her family , friends and colleagues .
Highlights of this issue Two of the GSSA ’ s Congress 55 award winners , Robyn Nicolay and Anisha Dayaram , have written feature articles on the work they have been doing and presented at the congress . The spotlight falls on wire grass ( Elionurus muticus ) and forage sorghum ( Sorghum spp .) in our grass and pasture feature of the month . A few mysteries are solved as we finally learn the reason for the deaths of 350 elephants in Botswana and the reason for the mysterious ‘ fairy circles ’ in Australia and Namibia . Discoveries were made as researchers found a new grass species in the Maloti-Drakensberg area and a PhD student found an ‘ extinct ’ plant in Piketberg . There is also a new app for karoo plant identification that you can download and try out this holiday season .
Be sure to check out the submission deadlines to Grassroots for 2021 and a few exciting upcoming events . There is also a call for special sessions for GSSAC56 which closes on 30 January 2021 .
Lastly , we welcome a new Grassroots team member , Marnus Smit .
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ! Enjoy the read !
Best regards , Malissa
Editorial Committee
Editor Malissa Murphy
Sub-Editors Charné Viljoen Marnus Smit
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 : info @ grassland . org . za
@ GrasslandSocietyofSouthernAfrica
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 20 No 4 December 2020 02