GSSA Congress 2016

First page

The Annual Congress was hosted by the Western Cape at Wilderness Hotel Resort and Spa, Wilderness.

The Congress incorporated the highly acclaimed Research Skills Workshop from 3 to 4 July 2016, and an Invasive Species Workshop held on 8 July 2016.

List of delegates

Scientific Programme

The Final Programme of Abstracts will be available shortly to download.

3 July 2016

Research Skills Workshop

Session 1: Planning the Journey

Introduction to the Philosophy of Science

JP Smit

The Research Question

Tim O'Connor

Connecting with Funders

Augustine Morkel

Choosing a Career Path

Julius Tjelele

Session 2: Travelling Together

Networking and Collaboration in Research Institutions

Pieter Swanepoel

Session 3: Getting There

Experimental Design

Victoria Goodall

Data Management

Victoria Goodall

Photography in the Field

Justin du Toit

Smartphones, Tablets and Apps for Fieldwork

Clement Cupido

Session 4: Getting it Out There

Ten Tips for Designing the Perfect Poster

Adrian Shrader

Oral Presentations: How to Effectively give them using PowerPoint

Adrian Shrader

Popular Articles - Translating Science for the Public

Amelia Genis

Overcoming the Academic Publishing Ostacle

Heidi Hawkins

4 July 2016

Disruptive Events and the Role of Technology

Arie van Ravenswaay

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Opening Plenary and Keynote Addresses

Change in open grassy ecosystems in the Southern Hemisphere

Nicola Stevens

From bush encroachment to biome shift: What processes and feedbacks underlie the point of no return?

Susi Vetter

Breeding new grass varieties for optimized dry matter with least possible enteric methane emissions

Ole Groenbaek

Past and Future Trends in Vegetation Change

Anticipated impact of climate change on rangeland productivity in central South Africa by the mid-21st century

Catherine Odendaal-Etsebeth

Grassiness of the Eastern Karoo - part of a cycle or here to stay?

Justin du Toit

Ecotones in the Tankwa Karoo National Park

Mmoto Masubelele

Determining the changes in vegetation structure in three semi-arid savanna environments in Namibia over the past 60 years

Matthew Walters

Rangeland Fire Ecology

Transitions from black-world to brown-world in a semi-arid savanna in the KNP

Sally Archibald

The long-term effects of fire regime on primary production of montane grasslands in South Africa

Colin Everson

Fire-grazer interactions in a Highveld Grassland (looking at the long term impacts)

Felix Skhosana

Fire history and frost in a semi-arid savanna woodland: Understanding their impacts on vegetation structure and species composition in the Waterberg Plateau Park, Central Namibia

Visto Amputu

The effect of fire history on soil nutrients, soil organic carbon and soil respiration in a semi-arid savanna woodland, central Namibia

Elise Nghalipo

Post-fire succession of Elytropappus rhinocerotis (renosterbos) in Namaqualand Granite Renosterveld woodland, central Namibia

Megan Simons

The effects of fire frequency on soil water repellency in the semi-arid regions of Eastern Cape

Tanki Thubela

Tropical Grasslands: Forages & Feeds

In vitro ruminal fermentation and digestibility of Eragrostis hay supplemented with forages of selected accessions of Stylosanthes scabra

Thami Mpanza

Adaptability and agronomic performance of Stylosanthes scabra accessions grown in subtropical regions of South Africa

Thami Mpanza

Growth performance of dryland spineless cactus pastures in a semi-arid area

Florence Nherera-Chokuda

5 July 2016

Applying Remote Sensing to Rangeland and Pasture Management

Towards earth observation based near-real time estimation of regional grass biomass as an indicator of rangeland quantity: A critical input for determining carrying capacity of herbivores

Abel Ramoelo

Trends in seasonal composition of plant functional types: retrieving fraction of winter-green grass cover in the Drakensberg Mountains using long-term satellite observations

Clement Adjorlolo

Monitoring rangelands from space: Early Warning System for Namibian livestock farmers

Cornelis van der Waal

Using GIS and aerial photography to detect the temporal effect of bush encroachment across the farms Kliprots, Elsinor, Nora and Sofiero in north west KwaZulu-Natal

Erika van Zyl

Alien Invasives

Chondrilla juncea (skeleton weed): a harmful invader that poses a threat to agriculture

Khanyisa Jama

Perceptions and livelihood uses of invasive alien species (Acacia dealbata) in the Eastern Cape

Agripa Ngorima

Can spiny and spineless cactus pear be controlled through use as forage?

Ntuthuko Mkhize

The replacement of natural vegetation by Prosopis stands along the mid-Fish River in Namibia

Nabot Mbeeli

Improving water use estimates of alien invasive Prosopis chilensis trees by improved leaf area estimates along the Fish River in Namibia

Eben Nowaseb

Indigenous Vegetation Encroachment

Evaluating the impact of bush encroachment on herbaceous vegetation in Sheshegu communal rangeland of the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Keletso Mopipi

Seriphium plumosum L encroachment is influenced by landscape factors and grassland community

Gilbert Pule

The effects of seed ingestion by livestock, dung fertilization, trampling, grass competition and fire on seedling establishment of two woody plant species

Julius Tjelele

Preliminary results of bush encroachment in Makapanstad communal rangelands, North West Province

Mthunzi Mndela

Land Transformation and Rehabilitation

Maintaining production and meeting conservation goals on grazing properties in the Australian rangelands

Neil MacLeod

Scale-dependent bi-trophic interactions in a Mopane savanna: Size of nutrient patches influences grazer vs. browser response

Cornelis van der Waal

Evaluation of grass species diversity, fitness and abundance in coal mine rehabilitated and natural areas

Mziwanda Mangwane

Using nature-based solutions to control invasive weed species Tagetes minuta in affected landscapes

Linus Munishi

6 July 2016

Rangeland Ecology and Management

Effect of stocking density on vegetation and animal performances within the Upper Karoo of South Africa

Christiaan Harmse

Diversity and composition of herbaceous species in areas with different grazing intensity in Kweneng district, Botswana

Shimane Makhabu

The cost of fencing infrastructure on a small stock farm for effective predator management and sustainable veld management, in relation to land prices in the Vanrhynsdorp area of the Western Cape

Albertus Dyason

Livestock water productivity, towards improving rural livelihoods from livestock: A case of Mgwalana village, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Bukho Gusha

The use of long term data in informing drought mitigation measures

Lucas Manaka

7 July 2016

Rangeland Assessment and Monitoring

VEGMAP of South Africa: Gaps and opportunities in the Grasslands biome

Anisha Dayaram

Where to with rangeland monitoring? The role of remotely piloted aircraft

Christiaan Harmse

An assessment of the defoliation tolerance of increaser and decreaser mesic grassland species

Naledi Zama

Adapted Point Centre Quarter (APCQ) method for assessing veld condition of tree/shrub vegetation In African savanna and thicket communities

Winston Trollope

Vegetation description and evaluation of the Msinga District, Tugela Valley, KwaZulu-Natal

Flip Breytenbach

Travelling with Acocks as his work still adds value generations later

Les Powrie

Planted Pastures: Cultivar Adaptations, Production Systems and Pasture Management

Breeding for drought tolerance and improved nitrogen uptake in forage grasses

Ole Groenbaek

The National Forage Genebank: current activities

Letty Masemola

Historical view and future perspective of integrated crop-livestock systems in the Mediterranean region of South Africa

Pieter Swanepoel

Productivity (above- and belowground) of Festuca arundinacea Schreb following different defoliations

Paul Malan

Direct anthelmintic effects of feeding Lespedeza cuneata hay (leaf material) on gastrointestinal parasites in sheep: in vivo studies

Erika van Zyl

Forage Nutrition

Landscape and seasonal effects on crude protein, fibre and in vitro fermentation characteristics of common grass species in semi-arid communal grazing lands of South Africa

Ayanda Kwaza

The potential of woody plants as forage source in a changing climate in semi-arid communal grazing lands of South Africa: Dynamics of mineral contents of 26 woody species

Solomon Tefera

Effect of polyethylene glycol 4000 supplementation on the performance of indigenous Pedi goats fed diets with different levels of Acacia karroo leaf meal and Setaria verticillata grass hay

David Brown

Nutritive value of common browsed species in the semi-arid region of the Eastern Cape, South Africa: crude Protein, fibre and degradability characteristics

Lusanda Ncisana

Forage nutrition in the degraded Nama Karoo rangeland: species diversity and composition

Florence Nherera-Chokuda

Variety is the Spice of Life: forage species variety in diets of goats increases woody plant and tannin intake generations later

Piet Monegi

Soil and Fertilizers for Sustainable Pasture Production

The forage nutrient content, biomass yield and soil quality in the old arable lands planted to four leguminous pastures in Lushington communal area in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa

Unathi Gulwa

Tillage effects, soil quality and production potential of kikuyu-ryegrass pastures in South Africa

Pieter Swanepoel

How does light intensity, water availability and planting depth influence germination and survival of Eragrostis tef?

Steph Lyle

The effect of biogas slurry on yield and quality of oats and fescue planted in Macubeni, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Nobuntu Matyholo-Mapeyi

Functional role of ammonium and nitrate in regulating transpiration for mass-flow acquisition of nutrients

Mandilakhe Naku

Farmer Knowledge and Perceptions

Socio-cultural perceptions of communal farmers towards rangeland degradation in selected localities in North West province of South Africa

Khuliso Ravhuhali

Local knowledge of grasses in semi-arid South Africa: Comparison of forage traits, status and trends, and similarities with field studies

Solomon Tefera

Small-scale farmers’ knowledge of livestock-rangeland management practices in the Gauteng Province, South Africa

Lucas Letsoalo

Maintaining improved management of communal rangelands after the funding runs out: Could linking to market be the ‘silver bullet’ sustainable incentive…?

Gerbrand Nel

Dairy and Planted Pastures

What is known about forage herbs and their potential use in South Africa?

Sigrun Ammann

The growth rate and total dry matter production of annual ryegrass in the southern Cape

Janke van der Colf

Seasonal herbage yield of Lolium multiflorum varieties with emphasis on those with extended summer growth after flowering

Khutso Mohubedu

Pasture dry matter yield of perennial ryegrass and ryegrass hybrids in the southern Cape

Janke van der Colf

Performance, rumen fermentation and nitrogen utilisation in dairy cows as affected by dietary forage concentration and live yeast

Claude Muya

Rearing and finishing Angus/Jersey calves in a pasture-based beef production system

Josef van Wyngaard

Nutritional value of lucerne leaf meal inclusion in dairy calf diets

Joyce Marumo

8 July 2016

Invasive Species Workshop

Invaders or survivors?

Sue Milton

An overview of invasive plant taxonomy in South Africa

Pieter Winter

Invasive plant management in the Savanna biome

Nico Smit

Invasive plant management in the Grassland biome

Justin du Toit

Invasive plant management in the Karoo - the case of Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum)

Seb Rahlao

National status report on biological invasions

Seb Rahlao

Strategies for invasive plant control

Andrew Wannenburgh

Physical/chemical control methods used in Limpopo Natural Resource Management Programmes

Werner Roux

Chemical control - The role of herbicides in invasive alien plant management

Graham Harding

Exceptional successes with the biological control of invasive cacti in the North-Western grasslands

Helmuth Zimmermann

Photos

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GSSAC51DelegateListFINAL.pdf

application/pdf GSSAC51DelegateListFINAL.pdf — 136 KB

GSSA Congress 2016

GSSA Congress 2016

First page

Scientific Programme

3 July 2016

Research Skills Workshop

Session 1: Planning the Journey

Session 2: Travelling Together

Session 3: Getting There

Session 4: Getting it Out There

4 July 2016

Disruptive Events and the Role of Technology

Opening Plenary and Keynote Addresses

Past and Future Trends in Vegetation Change

Rangeland Fire Ecology

Tropical Grasslands: Forages & Feeds

5 July 2016

Applying Remote Sensing to Rangeland and Pasture Management

Alien Invasives

Indigenous Vegetation Encroachment

Land Transformation and Rehabilitation

6 July 2016

Rangeland Ecology and Management

7 July 2016

Rangeland Assessment and Monitoring

Planted Pastures: Cultivar Adaptations, Production Systems and Pasture Management

Forage Nutrition

Soil and Fertilizers for Sustainable Pasture Production

Farmer Knowledge and Perceptions

Dairy and Planted Pastures

8 July 2016

Invasive Species Workshop

Sponsors

Photos

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GSSAC51DelegateListFINAL.pdf