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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

NRF commits R30-million for research at the UFS
2007-02-20

The National Research Foundation (NRF) has committed approximately R30-million for various research projects at the University of the Free State (UFS).
 
According to Prof Frans Swanepoel, Director of Research Development at the UFS, the NRF has also approved all eight research niche areas that were submitted to the NRF, the highest number approved at any university in the country.
 
Prof Swanepoel said the 24 research projects for which funding had been obtained from the NRF ranged from traditional healing and HIV/Aids/tuberculosis management, practices of the paediatric anti-retroviral programme at the UFS to nano-materials synthesis and characterisation.
 
He said the eight research niche areas were part of an initiative at the UFS to establish strategic clusters of academic and research excellence.
 
“There will be six strategic academic clusters at the UFS and the eight NRF-approved research niche areas will form part of them,” Prof Swanepoel said.
 
The six strategic clusters are:
1.         Water management in water-scarce areas
2.         New frontiers in poverty reduction and sustainable development
3.         Social transformation in diverse societies
4.         Ecologically sound value chains for agricultural commodities
5.         Materials and nano sciences
6.         Advanced bio-molecular research
 
Prof Swanepoel said that the UFS had also submitted five proposals in terms of an NRF initiative to establish research chairs at South African universities.
 
“Linked to our intention to establish six strategic academic clusters, five proposals for the South African Research Chair Initiative (SARCHi) were submitted. All five pre-proposals were accepted in the first round of screening, and successful candidates have been invited to submit full proposals by the end of February,” he said.
 
The proposed research chairs are:
 
Petro- and organometallic chemistry
Biocatalytic and biomimetic oxidation-reduction systems
Nano-solid state lighting
People’s health and well-being
Water management
 
Speaking at the official opening of the university earlier this month, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Frederick Fourie, said: “The cluster initiative represents a strategic initiative to focus our energies in a few key areas, investing in them so that the UFS can become an international leader in those fields.”
 
“A medium sized university such as the UFS with relatively limited human, physical and financial resources has to achieve this kind of ‘critical mass’ and synergy to establish itself in terms of its core functions of teaching/learning, research and community engagement,” said Prof Fourie.
 
Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
20 February 2007

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