New SAEON Node for Grasslands, Wetlands and Forests

At its meeting in November, the SAEON Technical Steering Committee (TSC) approved the establishment of a new SAEON node for Grasslands, Wetlands and Forests. This follows on the approval for the establishment of such a node by the SAEON Advisory Board in October, on condition that the TSC support the initiative. 

Johan Pauw, Head of SAEON, initially asked the SAEON Advisory Board to consider a proposal for the establishment of a node to combine grasslands and forests, based on the following considerations that underscore the importance and relevance of such a node:

• Grasslands are economically and ecologically important in South Africa and are under increasing threat
• There are considerable data available on grasslands, but these are widely scattered. SAEON could play a valuable role in consolidating the data
• The grassland area in South Africa is fairly unique. Further north into Africa grasslands occur in smaller, more limited patches (the same applies to the Fynbos Node)
• Grasslands are an important driver of goods and services, and it is thus important that they remain healthy
• Although grasslands cover 30% of South Africa and forests only 1%, forests are important research areas from a biodiversity perspective.

Wetlands: Why they should be included

Although the Advisory Board and TSC gave their support for a combined grasslands and forests node - following due process and consultation with the relevant communities – the TSC further proposed that wetlands also be considered for inclusion in the node, incorporating the River Health Programme and the Wetland Programme of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 

In many of the grassland areas there are considerable problems associated with changes in and destruction of wetlands. This is a fundamental landscape issue associated with the large-scale anthropogenic change imposed on wetlands. Even landowners are not always aware of the damage they are causing. Urbanisation also plays a major role: the biggest impact of mushrooming cities on the natural environment is on watercourses and wetlands.

Geographic location

KwaZulu-Natal appears to be a natural home for the node. Apart from the fact that there are many forested areas in the province, long-term studies on grasslands and pastures are ongoing in the Pietermaritzburg area. There is a critical mass of researchers in the region at organisations and institutions such as Cedara Agricultural Research Institute and Ezemvelo-KZN Wildlife.

From KwaZulu-Natal a transect could, for instance, run into the Wakkerstroom area of Mpumalanga , where wetlands are plentiful. Apart from the pockets of forest situated in other biomes, there is a large stretch of indigenous forest in the Knysna/ George area, with Saasveld as the main research centre, which could be linked up with the central node. 

Fresh water (both groundwater and surface water) is a critical factor and should receive ongoing attention as a cross-cutting element in every node. In grassland as in savanna, irrigation and damming have irrevocably changed the nature and characteristics of the biome.

“The successful establishment of this node will complete the series of nodes envisaged for SAEON in the foreseeable future,” says Johan Pauw.

Consultative process

But before any major decisions are taken, such as the geographic location of the node, a consultative process will be followed in debating key issues with relevant communities.