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Curiosity about environmental changes drives Dr Katlego Mashiane’s PhD research

21 April 2023 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Striving to make a difference in the field of biodiversity conservation, Dr Katlego Mashiane decided to pursue a PhD in Geography, focusing on the spatial modelling of grassland diversity and nutrients in subalpine environments. He received his PhD during the recent April graduation ceremonies on the Qwaqwa Campus.

In the small village of Ga-Mabotia about 25 km outside of Polokwane, Dr Katlego Mashiane grew up, surrounded by rocky mountains characterised by boulder outcrops, where he interacted with nature from an early age.

He recently obtained his PhD, majoring in Geography, from the University of the Free State (UFS), which was conferred on him during the April graduation ceremonies that took place on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus. The title of his dissertation is Grass nutrients estimation as an Indicator of rangeland quality using satellite remote.

Predicting the presence of biodiversity and nutrients in an area

Based on the principle that diverse grasslands tend to perform better, environmental changes threaten the resilience and services these grassland ecosystems provide. The study examined how many different types of plants and animals can be found at a particular place to enhance our understanding of the ecosystem’s value to humans, and that biodiversity loss will reduce these ecosystem services. Focusing on spatial modelling of grassland diversity, Dr Mashiane specifically investigated the influence of topography and remotely sensed satellite data on species richness and diversity in subalpine environments, and how they are affected by the availability of grass species. To determine this, he used a random forest machine-learning algorithm to find the best information in the data that could be used to estimate the levels of species richness, diversity, and nitrogen in a protected national conservation park.

His study discovered that some data types – such as the near-infrared variable and certain vegetation data (EVI and SAVI) – were especially useful for determining the number and variety of species in a certain area. With this information, scientists can create models that predict the presence of different types of biodiversity and nutrients in an area.

Playing a key role in protecting our natural assets

Equipped with this knowledge, one will be able to understand how to protect and preserve different types of biodiversity and promote the nutritional value of both plants and animals in the environment. “Land managers could use this information for conservation strategies,” states Dr Mashiane, who decided to pursue this study because he was curious about how environmental changes will affect species.

“Grasslands provide important ecosystem services underpinning human well-being, and therefore warrant our protection; I would like to play a role in protecting our natural assets and contribute to understanding our biomes, especially in the context of global change,” he says.

In the next five years, Dr Mashiane plans to pursue further research and mentor other students in his field of study.

News Archive

UFS presents unique rally

2005-06-07

On Friday 10 June 2005, the University of the Free State (UFS) will present the Kovsie version of the Amazing Race in Bloemfontein.

The Amazing Rainbow Rally will be held in aid of children and babies with serious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

By raising the necessary funds, equipment can be acquired to meet the unique health care needs of these special patients. It will also enable the UFS to maintain the high standards of education, training and research in this field.

The Amazing Rainbow Rally will give some residents of Bloemfontein an opportunity to test their knowledge of the city, as well as their time management skills, communication skills, team work and even their relationships!

About 12 corporate teams from among others Vodacom, Eskom, Medi-Clinic, Mimosa Mall and Nedbank and four university teams must follow a specific route with various checkpoints by car. Here they will have to complete activities or solve clues before receiving their clue to the next checkpoint. Teams will be traveling with cars branded with the logo of the company they represent.

The rally will start at 09:00 at the Rooiplein of the UFS and will again end on the campus where they will complete the last task. The first team to complete this task is the winner of Bloemfontein’s first Amazing Rainbow Rally.

OFM’s breakfast team will do live crossings on the day to reveal how teams are doing.

The Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at the UFS serves children with special needs, in other words children who need intensive care, or who suffer from cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and conditions, endocrinological diseases or gastro-enterological conditions.

The Department provides secondary health care to more than 250 000 children in the southern parts of the Free State, but is responsible for the tertiary care of about a million children in the Free State and Northern Cape, as well as some parts of the North-West province, the Eastern Cape and Lesotho. The intensive care units at Universitas and Pelonomi Hospitals serve approximately 1 300 neonatal and 350 intensive care patients annually. The pediatric cardiology unit admits almost 300 high care heart patients per year. Approximately 13 000 out-patients visit these two hospitals every year.

MEDIA RELEASE

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel: (051) 401-2584
   Cell: 083 645 2454
   E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

7 June 2005

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