African Journal of Range and Forage Science

Editorial: GSSA 60th Anniversary Special Edition The GSSA at 60: charting the past, shaping the future of rangeland ecology

Kevin Kirkman, Craig Morris, Helga van der Merwe — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

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From forage to multifunctionality: shifting perceptions of rangeland ecosystem services in the journals of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa

Craig D. Morris — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Rangelands offer various goods and ecosystem services (ES) besides providing forage for commercial livestock production. An analysis of research published in the journals of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa from 1966 to 2023 revealed a widening focus on different consumptive and non-consumptive ES. While livestock remains the primary focus, there is a growing interest in other provisional, regulatory, supporting, and cultural ES and uses of rangeland. The term ‘ecosystem services’ started to appear in articles from the early 2000s, marking a shift towards a richer discourse on the multifarious resources and services rangelands can provide to diverse users. A transition from ‘veld’ to ‘rangeland’ terminology occurred at the onset of the 21st century, though ‘veld’ remains mentioned. Recognition of communal and pastoral users of rangelands has expanded since the mid-1980s, alongside more frequent studies on conservation of biodiversity and commercial game production. Research has increasingly focused on understanding ecological processes supporting rangeland productivity and the provision of other ES, including carbon sequestration for climate regulation. Cultural and recreational values of rangelands have received little research attention. Overall, the journals’ corpus is evolving to reflect a broader perspective on valuing and managing multi-functional rangelands, which is in alignment with global research trends.

Integration of livestock into conservation agriculture systems in the Mediterranean climate region of South Africa

Pieter A. Swanepoel, Hendrik P.J. Smit — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Within the Mediterranean climate region of South Africa, the livestock sector constitutes a substantial contributor to the regional economy. Livestock integration is prevalent in conservation agriculture systems in this region. Crop rotation involving small grains and canola is combined with lucerne and annual medics (among other forage crops) that are grazed by sheep. However, challenges exist due to high land footprints of livestock. Furthermore, there is concern about competition between animal feed and human food production, nitrogen flows, on-farm nutrient balance, water pollution, soil acidification, biodiversity loss and impacts on climate change. There is a growing demand and interest for sustainable livestock production systems, and we explore efficient use of local feed resources with low opportunity costs (e.g. crop residues, sacrificial crops, food waste) to create circular farm and food systems. Conservation agriculture systems serve as a good example of farming practices that address sustainability while simultaneously offering ecosystem services. This paper highlights the need for integrated agricultural systems that could also serve as a buffer against environmental degradation caused by conventional agricultural systems. Integrated crop-livestock systems create synergies between crops and livestock that ensure the recycling of nutrients, minimise by-product waste, reduce external inputs and encourage sustainable resource management.

Rethinking radical veld improvement: a sustainable approach to grazing land restoration?

K.P. Kirkman — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Radical veld improvement (RVI), a concept explored in southern Africa during the mid to late 1900s, aimed to intensify agricultural landscapes by enhancing veld productivity by incorporating productive forage grasses or legumes, soil nutrient enrichment, or a combination of both. The envisioned agricultural landscapes encompassed croplands on fertile soils, pastures on less productive soils (veld replacement), radically improved veld (fortified with nutrients and forage species) on marginal soils, and intact natural veld remnants in rocky, steep or inaccessible areas. While numerous studies have documented the principles and practices of RVI, widespread adoption has been limited. Had RVI gained broader acceptance, grazing land productivity in southern Africa might have seen marked improvements; however, at the cost of diminished biodiversity and the associated ecosystem services. Revisiting RVI and its associated procedures and mechanisms, but focusing on rehabilitating degraded grazing lands and abandoned fields, provides a contemporary context for RVI procedures and practices. This re-evaluation presents an opportunity to harness decades of research and highlight the potential of RVI principles and practices as cost-effective and ecologically benign approaches to augment livestock production and enhance pertinent ecosystem services without compromising the intrinsic biodiversity and conservation value of pristine veld.

Nearly six decades of grazing research published by the Grassland Society of Southern Africa: trends, recommendations and gaps

G. Arena, H-J Hawkins — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We reviewed research on grazing in extensive rangelands published by the Grassland Society of Southern Africa’s (GSSA) flagship journal, founded in 1966. We aimed to identify and synthesise emerging themes, trends, key recommendations and research gaps. From 1966 to 2023, we identified 396 articles covering 469 study sites across 25 countries. Most studies addressed livestock production and sustainable rangeland management on working farms. Key themes included rotational or continuous grazing, and burning, while intensive grazing approaches and evolving techniques (e.g. pyric herbivory and herding) were less frequently covered. No significant thematic trends emerged over time. Global conceptual advances in ecosystem models have influenced our understanding of the socio- ecological nature of regional rangelands. We recommend clarifying management goals; using adaptive management; diversifying livestock with wildlife where appropriate; aligning stocking rates with ecosystem carrying capacity; maintaining appropriate fire regimes; and robust monitoring for productivity, biodiversity and soil organic carbon. Despite 94% of articles being from Africa, expanded research in the Southern African Development Community is necessary to integrate indigenous knowledge, quantify grazing impacts on biodiversity, evaluate rewilding strategies, and explore climate change interactions with fire and grazing. Overall, the GSSA has made significant contributions to rangeland science in southern Africa and globally.

African Journal of Range and Forage Science: paving the way to restoration in African rangelands

Suzanne J. Milton — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

For six decades the African Journal of Range & Forage Science and its precursors have contributed to understanding drivers of rangeland degradation and development of approaches for restoration of damage by grazing, mining and other forms of land use. Of the 857 articles selected by the keyword search, only around 150 focused on reversing loss of natural capital, including soil, water and biodiversity and or resilience, and were cited in this review. Restoration approaches ranged from grazing management such as resting, rotational grazing and grazing intensification, to interventions such as burning, browsing and clearing of encroaching woody or non- native plants, resource capture, reseeding and replanting. Global change brings novel challenges for restoration research. Major knowledge gaps include assessment of restoration progress, development of policy and incentives to promote and fund restoration, and identification of unintended risks posed by restoration interventions.

A review of the contribution of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa to understanding conservation and wildlife research and management in southern Africa

Mike J.S. Peel, Peter J.K. Zacharias — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We identified 440 papers and 81 book reviews published chronologically by the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) over 60 years, determined as making a contribution to understanding the drivers and response variables affecting the management and use of grassland and savanna rangelands in southern Africa as they relate to wildlife conservation and research. Established drivers and response variables considered critical in determining savanna and grassland structure and function in the wildlife context were used as discussion themes. Papers, based on title, keywords (where given) and author experience, were categorised as directly or indirectly relevant to the wildlife industry. Properties that were largely undisturbed or previously used for commercial production were included. The review yielded 106 papers that contribute directly to the wildlife industry and 334 from which principles have been adopted and adapted, largely from livestock systems. Including the book reviews, a total of 521 Journal contributions were accessed. The GSSA’s contribution, in the form of ‘wise use’ principles of sustainable management developed over 60 years, will increase as African economies exploit opportunities to utilise wildlife resources to the benefit of their citizens.

Overlooked forbs: implications for rangeland biodiversity and function in southern Africa

Sindiso Nkuna, Craig Morris — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Forbs are a diverse component of grassy ecosystems, offering various vital ecosystem services while enhancing system resilience. However, herbaceous non-grass species are not routinely enumerated, nor their significance evaluated. We examined the extent to which grassland forbs have been considered by research published in the journals of the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (1966– 2023). Searches for ‘forbs’ were conducted in the Taylor and Francis online database. Forbs were mentioned at least once in the text of 259 articles, in 35 abstracts, and in the title of four papers. Studies that included forbs were mostly conducted in mesic or semi-arid grassland or savannas. Articles in which forbs were just mentioned or their abundance measured as a group predominated, but quantitative studies of forb species composition and diversity accelerated during the later decades. Grazing has been the primary impact studied on forbs followed by fire and the environment. Major research gaps identified include the inconsistent grouping or definition of forbs and the lack of data on forb functional or phylogenetic diversity. Overall, this study shows that forb measurement has advanced over six decades, enhancing understanding of grassland responses to grazing and other disturbances, proving the effort to enumerate forbs worthwhile.

Putting the pieces together: woody plant encroachment across a precipitation gradient in southern Africa

David Ward — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Woody plant encroachment is one of the most widespread land-cover changes in many countries. We put the data together along a precipitation gradient within southern Africa from 150 mm/annum (Namibia) to 1 500 mm/annum (eastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). We found that extreme rainfall was the most important factor causing woody plant encroachment in semi-arid environments. In one mesic environment, transit through an animal, dung, simulated grazing and fire had important effects on encroachment. In the humid environment, we found that, without grass competition, shade was the most important factor. Grass competition was important in all environments. We found that there was a negative correlation between the change in soil carbon from open grasslands to paired encroached grasslands along the rainfall gradient, indicating that more carbon occurred in the soil at lower rainfall. In our conservation study, we found that the palatable tree species were being removed by herbivores and some of them were extirpated, and the unpalatable species were increasing in density. In sum, grass competition is a key factor across the gradient, but it is highly likely that global climate change (especially elevated CO2 and warming interactions) is the most important factor for woody plant encroachment. Key factors to study are facultative resprouting and plant–soil feedbacks.

Historical trajectories and current perspectives on sub-Saharan wildland fire science and management in select scientific literature

Devan Allen McGranahan, Kevin P. Kirkman — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Fire has long been a fixture on African landscapes to which ecosystems, wildlife and people have adapted. Not surprisingly, wildland fire science in Africa has also undergone substantial change and development. Three broad eras of wildland fire science and management in sub-Saharan Africa have been described: An imperial period associated with European colonialism; an empirical period, during which fire research became more rigorous but remained reluctant to accept the role of humans; and an increasingly inclusive period, in which human dimensions of fire regimes are recognised and fire is understood to be part of complex landscape dynamics. Here we review the history of fire research in sub-Saharan Africa by analysing important literature from the past century, including a systematic review of peer-reviewed fire literature published by the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) over the past six decades. We also highlight two important projects from the mid-20th century: the 1972 Proceedings of the 11th Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference in Tallahassee, Florida, USA – titled Fire in Africa – and the products of the South African programme on the Ecological Effects of Fire in South African Ecosystems, both being closely coupled to the fire literature published by the GSSA. We found that trends in fire science in Africa align well with the evolution of ecology as a global scientific discipline. We highlight evidence for transitions between the eras of understanding as they are reflected in contemporary publications, and critically analyse important contributions from South African publications. The empirical tradition of fire research is particularly strong in South Africa, but several colonial assumptions and scientific norms from the global north have persisted even as the interactions between wildland fire and human livelihoods are increasingly evident. The GSSA, in particular, has an opportunity to be an increasingly inclusive source for the exchange of fire knowledge from both social and ecological perspectives via its annual congresses and publications.

People and rangelands: a review of the contribution of the African Journal of Range and Forage Science to advancing knowledge on the human dimensions of African rangelands

Wayne Twine — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The social dimensions of rangeland systems are increasingly highlighted in international rangelands literature. This paper presents a systematic review of the African Journal of Range and Forage Science from 1966 to 2023 to evaluate its contributions to this scholarship. The review involved analysing socially relevant papers for their frequency, author keywords, themes, geographical focus and tenure context. A qualitative assessment of the journal’s special issues and a synthesis of recurring themes across all papers were conducted, utilising both ChatGPT-4 AI and manual review of paper conclusions. Out of the screened papers, 73 included social context terms. Notably, the number of these papers has increased significantly, particularly from 2003 onwards, with peaks aligning with special issues. Thematic focuses include management, practices, behaviour, knowledge and livelihoods in communal regions, primarily centring on South Africa despite a broader African focus emerging over time. The journal has been instrumental in deepening the understanding of African rangelands as socio-ecological systems and advocating for the integration of social dimensions into rangeland management, research and policy in Africa. Suggested future research directions build on the existing work as well as addressing understudied themes.