Justin du Toit

Victoria Goodall

Victoria Goodall

Pieter Swanepoel

Julius Tjelele

Augustine Morkel

Tim O'Connor

JP Smit

Grassroots Overview and Guidelines for Authors

Skill in writing—like factual knowledge, critical thinking, and field experience—is an essential tool for the practicing ecologist. After all, writing is the major way ecologists communicate with each other. The hints in this handout are for students writing in ecology classes. If you take these hints to heart, writing class papers should be easier and more effective. But writing takes time and effort for everyone, and everyone can use some help. The real goal of this handout is to build writing skills that you can use to communicate your scientific ideas in any situation. Mark V Wilson of the Department of Botany and Plant Physiology at Oregon State University.

Why do scientists bother to publish? A disinterested member of the public or a member of government might be forgiven for thinking that science exists to advance society’s needs. While “making the world a better place” is both an aspiration and an outcome of scientific activity, in my view, it is not the major motivation for scientists to publish. In a recent survey of biological and medical scientists, about half said they publish “to communicate knowledge”, while rather fewer responded with “to demonstrate productivity” or “to establish prestige”. Published by the Ecological Society of America, www.frontiersinecology.org.

Morgan C. Giddings provides a different and perhaps deeper look at what makes a successful scientist. Including don’t worry about age, worry about being exposed to new ideas; take risks; enjoy your work; learn to say "no!"; learn to enjoy the process of writing and presenting; see the big picture and keep it in mind. Published in PLoS Computational Biology Volume 4(2) www.ploscompbiol.org.

Although scientists typically insist that their research is very exciting and adventurous when they talk to laymen and prospective students, the allure of this enthusiasm is too often lost in the predictable, stilted structure and language of their scientific publications. Kaj Sand-Jensen presents here, a top-10 list of recommendations for how to write consistently boring scientific publications. He then discusses why we should and how we could make these contributions more accessible and exciting. Published in Oikos 116: 723-727.

David Colquhoun considers how a university can achieve the best research and teaching, and the most efficient administration. Published in Physiology News No 69 Winter 2007 www.physoc.org

Climate Change Green Paper

The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has released the long-awaited National Climate Change Response Green Paper . The public is invited to submit comments until 11 February 2011.

Prof. HA Snyman

Professor Stef F. Coetzee

The following are contributions by various authors to the debate concerning appropriate forms of tenure for grazing land in South Africa that is to be redistributed through the Government's land reform programme.

SJ Milton, WRJ Dean, MT Hoffman & GIH Kerley

Kevin Kirkman

Editorial; GSSA in a federation of Environmental Scientists?; Young Scientists Expo '94; ARS Travelling Fellowship to Austgalia; LOCORES (Lowveld Coordinated Research Forum) day, Thornybush Game Reserve; The use of fire as a management tool

Vegetation dynamics during the processes of degradation and recovery in parts of the grassland and karoo biomes of south Africa (K Kellner, PhD thesis); Die kwantifisering van veldtoestand in die SentraJ-Vrystaat (HC van der Westhuizen, Msc); Die invloed van stikstoetbemesting en ontblaring op die kwantiteit van Lolium multiflorum cv. Midmar (JF Theron)

Patch grazing in th humid grasslands of KwaZulu-Natal (BU Lutge); Short-term effects of grazing cattle together with sheep in highland sourveld (MB Hardy); The management of grass/clover pastures in KwaZulu-Natal (RJ Eckard); Management of a tall fescue pasture (R Phillips); The production and nse of foggage in sourveld (MB Hardy); Cultivated pasture research needs (P Bartholomew); Application of RANGEPACK Herd-Econ to southern Africa rangelands (G Hatch)

A sourveld management system (N Murray); Vigour of sourveld in response to cattle and sheep grazing (G Peddie); Effects of grazing and resting on veld productivity (KP Kirkman); Blaze and graze: management of sourveld after the bum (PJK Zacharias); Stocking rate and animal performance (CJG le Roux, L Howe, H Oosthuizen & CH de Ridder); Nuwe veldbestuurstelsels op Wildebeesfontein Proefplaas (HW van Pletaen, JD Becker, M de Villiers & JH Kemp); Veld management strategies for livestock fanners in the sourveld regions of South Africa (KP Kirkman & A Moore); Maximum production or maximum profit? (C Cloete); A research need in the sourveld (NM Tainton)