Satellite monitoring beyond the forest edge

South Africa’s renowned Fynbos region has experienced the second worst number of plant extinctions in the world. Now researchers from SAEON’s Fynbos Node have developed a globally recognised method of detecting problems in the Fynbos before they cause irreparable damage.

Science and technology in action

Tracking down the iconic Snow Protea of the Cederberg Wilderness

Combine a suite of unusual ingredients from the natural world, add a pinch of careful planning and adventure, and you may be lucky enough to encounter the enigmatic Snow Protea in full flower. But what exactly makes this Fynbos species so intriguing?

Impact of the 2014–2019 drought on a large, intact African savanna ecosystem

The summer of 2019–20 brought an end to the drought that had been ravaging the country’s summer rainfall areas since 2015. SAEON’s Ndlovu Node took advantage of this rare research opportunity to study tree mortality in the Kruger National Park.

Tackling a BIG problem in a SMALL grassland

The grasslands of Limpopo, being hyperdiverse, highly fragmented and under threat, are a microcosm for the status of grasslands globally. Now, a tiny grassland fragment – just over three hectares in size, has come into the spotlight in the global fight against bracken.

Investigating the drivers of vegetation change in the eastern Karoo

Drawing on long-term rainfall and vegetation composition data, this SAEON study can provide useful advice for farmers about rainfall as a driver of veld condition and fire as an increasingly important disturbance.

The sky in a haze

The Sahara dust plume is one of the greatest annual migrations on earth. The extent of the recent dust event has not been seen in over 50 years and has been dubbed the “Godzilla dust cloud” in the Caribbean.

Second professorship for SAEON’s Juliet Hermes

Juliet has been appointed Honorary Professor at Nelson Mandela University in recognition of the tremendous contributions she has made to research and supervision at the university.

Building vital capacity

Marine reserves through an oceanographic lens

SAEON PhD candidate Caroline Sejeng aims to use the latest remote sensing and physical data – as well as existing biodiversity information – to provide a multidisciplinary approach to her research on marine protected areas.

Ocean modeller Moagabo Ragoasha joins the Egagasini team

Moagabo’s postdoc research will be in the southern Benguela where she will be focusing on the impact of the Cape Canyon on the shelf-edge mass exchange and local currents.

Arid Lands Node’s newest team member hopes to unravel more Karoo ecosystem mysteries

Postdoctoral research fellow Kuda Musengi will be initiating long-term research on the SKA property and on adjacent livestock farms.

Science engagement

SAEON Kids iNaturalist competition

When the Covid-19 restrictions made SAEON’s science camps impossible, the Science Engagement team encouraged the learners to collect data via iNaturalist – a citizen science project where people from all over the world map and share their biodiversity observations.

Outreach and teaching about the web – using the tools SAEON produces

During South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown, SAEON science engagement officer Thomas Mtontsi organised a web-development tutorial run by the uLwazi Node for the SAEON Staff Kids Club.

SAEON in the media

SAEON’s people and projects received coverage in national and local print, online and social media.

“As our own species is in the process of proving, one cannot have superior science and inferior morals. The combination is unstable and self-destroying.”

~ Arthur C Clarke, British author, inventor and futurist

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