The Grassland Society of Southern Africa conference, held in Gariep, Free State from 22 to 26 July, served as a dynamic platform for researchers, practitioners and industry leaders to exchange knowledge on the future of open grassy ecosystems and the services they provide. The event provided a wealth of insights and opportunities for collaboration. 

Central themes that emerged from the conference was the growing importance of soil carbon on open grassy ecosystem functioning amid climate change, the responsible use of AI in academia and the need to influence policy directions. Renowned experts such as Professor Guy Midgley and Emeritus Professor William Bond delved into the intricacies of land use and arid ecosystem carbon balance, as well as bush encroachment in southern African mountains, offering valuable perspectives on their implications for agriculture and rangeland science.

One session on fire ecology was particularly enlightening. The session looked at the effect of time of day on fire intensity, annual burning on diversity of vegetation and wildlife versus intentional burning on grazed grassland. This aligns with the current focus of my PhD project on belowground regeneration capacity in frequently disturbed ecosystems and opens new avenues for exploration.

My presentation, titled Investigating the response of forb and grass belowground regeneration traits to disturbance in a semi-arid savanna, explored how forb and grass belowground bud-bearing organs and bud bank respond to different fire and herbivory combinations. This project, which is part of my PhD research (writing up stage), was conducted at the Satara-N’wanetsi experimental burn plots, established in the 1950s in the Kruger National Park. The project highlighted that forbs and grasses respond differently to different fire and herbivory combinations. Understanding belowground response of plants is crucial in understanding patterns observed aboveground over the years and improving management strategies.