eNews
#05 2020
Grasslands-Wetlands-Forests Node
Lake Sibaya and the beginning of the Iron Age in KwaZulu-Natal, an article co-authored by Sue Janse van Rensburg, coordinator of SAEON’s Grasslands-Wetlands-Forests Node, was published in Volume 37, No 2 of The Digging Stick, the popular magazine of the South African Archaeological Society. The article looks at new finds from Lake Sibaya which show that farmers did settle in the province during the Silver Leaves phase, perhaps some 200 years before Mzonjani. Lake Sibaya provides local evidence from the very beginning of the southern African Iron Age.
Inspirational Young Women in Science, an article published in Volume 16, No 3 of Quest magazine, features Xolile Mbuyazi, a DSI-NRF intern based at the Grasslands-Forests-Wetlands Node. Quest is a popular science magazine aimed at South African youth. A profile on Xolile was also published in Science Matters, to highlight the role of young scientists during Youth Month 2020. Xolile’s research focus is Groundwater Hydrology.
Shallow water river estuaries have provided a rich variety of benefits to humanity for thousands of years. Putting a price on ‘blue carbon’ water habitats, an article highlighting the research conducted by researchers from SAEON’s Elwandle Node as part of a Water Research Commission (WRC) study, was published in the September/October 2020 edition of The Water Wheel, the popular magazine of the WRC. The study has thrown light on the undervalued role of these estuaries in climate regulation and carbon storage.
