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03 January 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs
Research read more
Dr Sandy Steenhuisen conducts research on invasive alien plants and the effect they have on the environment.

South Africa, and more specifically the Free State, is known as a drought-stricken area. Invasive alien plants are gulping up much-needed water resources, draining our land. 

Pollination ecologist, Dr Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, who is also expanding into invasive alien research, is conducting research on the reproductive ecology of exotic plant species in montane grasslands. As an affiliate of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), this research is conducted with her students and a host of collaborators from Rhodes University (Centre for Biological Control), Stellenbosch University (Centre for Invasion Biology), and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.  

She says substantial funding is being made available for research on invasive species due to the extent of the problem nationally and globally. Their research is being funded and conducted in collaboration with plant ecology experts, Dr Kim Canavan (Rhodes University), Dr Grant Martin (Rhodes University), Prof David Richardson (Stellenbosch University), and Prof Colleen Downs (University of KwaZulu-Natal), as well as UFS postgraduate students Anthony Mapaura and Lehlohonolo Donald Adams, and UFS postdoctoral fellow, Dr Nicholas Le Maitre. 

Besides working with a host of collaborators, the ARU was this year also invited to join the prestigious Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), a global network of academics who are passionate about understanding the invasion of mountains by non-native species and its impact on local mountain ecologies.  

Black Wattle makes rivers run dry 

Alien plant species that often escape from planted gardens or plantations, thrive in disturbed, mismanaged and eroded areas. One of the biggest issues regarding alien plant invasion is that many people are not aware of the harmful effects it has on the environment, and that they continue to plant it or allow invaders to spread. 

A large percentage of trees in urban South Africa are invasive alien trees. They dry out the soil and displace our native plants. Coming from other countries and without their former enemies or competitors, they flourish. Our indigenous plants are not used to these plants and are easily displaced.  

An example of a very aggressive invasive alien plant in the region, and in South Africa as a whole, is Black Wattle. It uses excessive water, so bad that rivers run dry and riverbanks become eroded. It also chemically excludes many native plants from growing among them. 

Research content 1
Anthony Mapaura’s research focuses on Nassella, an invasive alien grass in the elevated areas of the Eastern Cape mountains.
This plant is extremely difficult to control and is the cause of a large number of  cattle dying. (Photo: Leonie Bolleurs)

This species is very hard to control. If you burn it or cut it off, it will grow back. In addition, it drops a great number of seeds into the soil, spreading without any difficulty.  

Another invader, Yellow Firethorn, which is being investigated by master’s student Adams, invades high-elevation grassland areas, reducing grazing potential and ultimately leading to unproductive farmland and choked rivers.  

“Our mountain grassland systems are not adapted to compete with the invasion of these alien trees. Since they are using excessive water resources, natural streams should return in many instances if they are removed,” says Dr Steenhuisen. 

Nassella displacing indigenous plants 

Mapaura focuses his doctoral study on an invasive grass genus, Nassella, originating from the Americas. Growing in the elevated areas of the Eastern Cape mountains, this species is the cause of a large number of cattle dying.  

The plant, which is not palatable and consists mostly of fibre, is eaten by cattle – especially during dry seasons when there is not much natural grazing available. It is difficult to digest, forming a ball in the stomach of the animals that ultimately results in death.  

“It is extremely difficult and costly to control, and natural grasses cannot compete with it. In Australia, many farmers have had to abandon their farms once these plants invaded, as the cost of control was higher than the value of the land. A similar situation could unfold in South Africa, and it’s a race to learn all we can about the ecology of this genus to inform policy and practice,” says Dr Steenhuisen. 

The solution, fighting for survival 

She said to effectively address these invasions, we need to understand everything about the reproductive ecology of the plants to develop specific biological or chemical control methods to target and destroy the plant at an appropriate life stage. We also need to know if the plants are using native animals (if not just wind and water) to pollinate their flowers and spread their seeds. “Organisations investigating the effectiveness of biological control agents and chemical products will be able to use our research data on the plants’ ecology to focus efforts on specific life stages,” she adds. 

Invasive alien plants also contribute to South Africa losing the genetic integrity of certain native plants with which they hybridise. For example, pure genetic lines of native white stinkwood trees are potentially mixing with exotics and hybrids, adding to a loss of diversity and genetic purity – a project being undertaken by postdoctoral fellow, Dr Le Maitre.  

Dr Steenhuisen urges South Africans to plant the genetically pure South African white stinkwood trees, especially since alien species and hybrids are often sold by garden centres as if they were the indigenous species.  

Dr Vincent Ralph Clark, Head of the Afromontane Research Unit at the UFS, has a vision to start a nursery for high-elevation indigenous plants. “A great number of nurseries do not supply pure indigenous trees, but hybrids,” says Dr Steenhuisen.  

 

News Archive

Access to the Bloemfontein Campus
2015-04-02

Access Control Made Easy

The first phase of access control at the University of the Free State (UFS) was implemented in August 2014. The aim of this initiative is to tighten security measures on the Bloemfontein Campus.
 
Since November 2014, access control has been implemented at all five gates on the Bloemfontein Campus. These are:

  • The Main gate in Nelson Mandela Drive (Gate 1)
  • The gate in DF Malherbe Drive (Gate 5)
  • The gate in Wynand Mouton Drive (Gate 3) 
  • The gate in Furstenburg Street (Gate 4)
  • The gate in Badenhorst Street (Gate 2)

Here is some useful information about the access control system:

1. Remember your access card when you enter the campus

Dual-function cards (with distance reader compatibility) will make your movement through the gates more convenient. The university’s access system works automatically with remote or swipe action. Please make sure that you drive close to the reader or, better still, get the dual-frequency card to manage the distance between your vehicle and the remote card reader.

As of 23 March 2015, the extra security staff, who have been assisting at the gates since the implementation of access control on the Bloemfontein Campus, are no longer manning the card readers at the gates. Therefore, persons without cards will be able to enter the campus only at the one gate in DF Malherbe Drive where the Visitors Centre is situated. They will be referred to the Visitors Centre, where a day visitor’s card will be issued to them. You will need to produce a formal identification document (e.g. ID book, driver's licence).

Security will continue their normal duties at the guardhouses for the various gates on the campus.

2. Where do I get an access card?

You can apply at the university’s Visitors Centre front desk by producing your positive identification (ID book/passport/driver’s licence) and proof of payment for your access card.

You will then be directed to the Thakaneng Bridge where you will be able to collect your access card.

  • Go to the Cashier on the Thakaneng Bridge and pay your R65 for the dual-frequency card
  • Take your receipt, together with your existing card (if you have one), to the Card Division on the Thakaneng Bridge (next to Mellins Optometrists)
  • A new photo will be taken of you at the Card Office for your new card. Your new card will then be issued immediately.

Currently, there is a sufficient stock of the dual-frequency cards available at the Card Division on the Thakaneng Bridge.
 
Alternatively, you can apply online for your access card: http://apps.ufs.ac.za/cardapplication/application.aspx

Make sure you have the following documents ready to attach when completing the online form:

  • Copy of positive identification: ID/Driver's Licence/Passport
  • Signed declaration (http://supportservices.ufs.ac.za/dl/Userfiles/Documents/00007/4668_eng.pdf) by your service provider/employer (if you are a service provider) or a letter of confirmation from your spouse/partner/relative/coach/relevant UFS staff member or student in cases where you have to visit, pick-up or drop off your spouse/partner/relative frequently on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

Cost: R65 for a long-term card and free of charge for short-term visits and conference delegates. Pay at the Cashier on the Thakaneng Bridge or at Absa Bank, Account Number: 1 570 8500 71, Ref: 1 413 07670 0198.

3. Cutoff Date: 7 April 2015

After 7 April 2015, no pedestrian or motorist will be able to enter the campus without a valid access card. Persons without access cards will have to enter the campus at the gate in DF Malherbe Drive where the Visitors Centre is situated. You will then be referred to the Visitors Centre where you will have to apply for a day visitor’s card. It is important to note that no one will be able to enter the campus at the Visitors Centre without a formal identification document (e.g. ID book, driver's licence).

4. Dual-frequency card simplifies access to the campus

It is important to have your card ready on entering the campus.

This card will simplify access to the campus considerably, as the card reader will read the card when it is held in a vertical position at the driver’s side window in the direction of the distance reader. Please do not place the card on the dashboard. There is an antenna wire in the card. If the card is placed on the dashboard, you are not exposing the card surface to the reader, and that might influence the antenna’s response to the reader.

Remember, the distance between the reader and the boom is only a few metres.  If you approach the reader at a ’high’ speed, you are not allowing the system to identify your card, match it to the entry in the database, check if you are ‘legal’, and then send a signal to open the boom. 

All five gates are equipped with distance readers. Within the next three weeks, two extra distance readers will also be installed at the Main Gate in Nelson Mandela Drive.
 
Please note that the dual-frequency card is needed only when you enter the campus with a vehicle and you want to activate the distance reader. All the older cards will continue to work at the tag readers. 

5. Use alternative gates

At times, some of the gates carry more traffic than others, especially with the peak morning and afternoon traffic. Gates with less traffic include:

  • The gate in Badenhorst Street
  • The gate in DF Malherbe Drive
  • The gate in Nelson Mandela Drive

You are welcome to make use of one of these alternative gates.

6. Pedestrians

No pedestrian will be able to enter the Bloemfontein Campus without a valid access card. If you have left your card at home or have lost it, you should enter the campus at the gate in DF Malherbe Drive where the Visitors Centre is situated. You will be referred to the Visitors Centre where you can apply for a day visitor’s card. You will still need to produce a formal identification document (e.g. ID book, driver's licence).

7. More information

Email: visitorscentre@ufs.ac.za
Visitors Centre front desk: Tel: +27 51 401 7766 (Mondays-Fridays 07:45-16:30)
Card Division: Tel: +27 51 401 2799 (Mondays-Fridays 07:45-16:30)
Protection Services duty room: +27 51 401 2634 (24 hours)

 

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