Zululander gets research funding
Sharon who is a senior with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, received her award to study the effect of fire on the Common Sugarbush, Protea caffra
IN its 10th year, the Botanical Education Trust has approved research funding for the coming year.
Chosen from 22 applications, Sharon Louw was one of five successful applicants.
Sharon who is a senior with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, received her award to study the effect of fire on the Common Sugarbush, Protea caffra.
The plant dies if burnt too intensely or too frequently.
The study, in the KZN midlands area, will lead to management guidelines for the protea savanna system, which will ultimately benefit the flora as a whole.
Of equal importance, is the endangered Pennington’s Protea butterfly, the life history of which is dependent on the Common Sugarbush.
In 2011, Sharon worked closely with Prof Neil Crouch and Prof Gideon Smith of the SA National Biodiversity Institute, monitoring and documenting aloegrowth forms throughout the season.
In March, when the aloes are at their flowering peak, a field survey was indertaken to accurately measure and describe the plant.
These findings for A. sharoniae were published in Bradleya in September.
Other beneficiaries
Dr Marinda Koekemoer, of the SA National Botanical Institute, will use her funds to complete her publication of the ‘Complete Plant Families of southern Africa’, which covers all families.
Visually self-explanatory and colourful, her books are suitable for, and acclaimed by, scholars, students, amateurs and professionals alike.
Dr Frances Siebert, of North-West University, received funding for her project on different forb species in semi-arid savanna. Forbs are non-woody plants, other than grasses, and are a particularly important food source for a variety of insects, including butterflies.
Dr Jolene Fisher, of the University of the Witwatersrand, has received funding for the collection of ground validation data, to enable her to identify the best open source remote sensing products to map the species diversity in mistbelt forests throughout KZN.
The last recipient, Natasha Visser, of the University of Johannesburg, received a grant to support her taxonomic study of the southern African grassland species Thesium.
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