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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

Council votes on appointment of senior staff

2004-11-18

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) today voted on the filling of three senior vacancies, including one post at Dean level and two at the level of Vice-Dean.

The Council voted as follows:


Dr Natie Luyt will be offered the post of Dean: Student Affairs	Prof Engela Pretorius will be offered the post of Vice-Dean: Faculty of Humanities	Dr Choice Makhetha will be offered the post of Vice-Dean: Student Affairs

“There are special challenges for the UFS in the short and medium term regarding transformation of our residences, and a certain combination of management qualities and skills is desirable. As a result of the diversity of the UFS’s student community it is therefore important to us to follow a team approach to deal with the challenges. With the combination of Drs Luyt and Makhetha, I believe we will be able to manage student affairs effectively and skillfully,” says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

“It is wonderful that we are able to celebrate the outcome of this process that has brought forward such excellent candidates who reflect our country’s diversity. It shows that we can achieve the goals of quality and diversity at the same time,” says Prof Fourie.

Prof Pretorius obtained all her qualifications (BA, BA (Hons) (cum laude), MA (cum laude) and D Phil) from the UFS, except for the Certificate in Gender Policy Management (cum laude) which she obtained in 2000 from WITS. She joined the Department of Sociology at UFS in 1980 and has headed the Department since 2001. She acted as Vice-Dean: Faculty of Humanities since July 2004. She has some thirty publications to her credit, published both nationally and internationally and has delivered 20 national and international papers. She is a member of the South African Sociological Association and is a member of the Council of the association and of the Editorial Board of Society in Transition, the society’s journal. She is also a member of the South African Academy for Science and Art and the Federation of African Women Educationalists in South Africa (FAWESA). Project involvement includes the Australian Women’s Executive Development Programme and the project Executive Development of Senior Women in South African Higher Education Institutions. She is also an NRF panelist.

Dr Luyt obtained his qualifications (BA, BA (Hons) (cum laude), MA (cum laude) and D Phil) at the UFS and started his career at the same institution in 1980 as lecturer in Political Science. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1983 and appointed as Director: Student Affairs in 1997. He has been acting as Dean: Student Affairs since 2003. Dr Luyt completed several work-related training courses, among others a course in ethnic and multiculturality at the Swiss Institute for Federalism and a course in conflict management at the South Tyrolean Economic and Social Institute.

Dr Makheta also obtained all her qualifications (BA, BA (Hons), MA in Political Science and Ph D in Political Science) at the UFS and started working as a student assistant in Political Science at the same institution in 1999. She was promoted to junior assistant in 2000, coordinator and facilitator of Political Science in 2001, assistant/acting Director: Student Affairs in 2001 and acting Director: Student Affairs in 2003. Dr Makhetha is currently a Senior Political Analyst at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The UFS Council also approved the promotion of nine professors to the rank of senior professor. They are Proff Louise Cilliers (Department English and Classical Languages), Dap Louw (Department of Psychology), Philip Nel (Department Afro-Asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice), Dirk van den Berg (Department of History of Art and Visual Culture Studies) Dingie van Rensburg (Director: Centre for Health Systems Research and Develoment), Andries Raath (Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law), James du Preez (Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology), Johan Grobbelaar (Department of Plant Sciences) and Louis Scott (Department of Plant Sciences).

This is the first group ever of senior professors at the UFS. The post level was created to provide better career and earnings opportunities for high quality academics and to increase the attractiveness of an academic career to young people.

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

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