TEAM - ARCHIBALD ECOLOGY LAB

SALLY ARCHIBALD

I work on understanding the dynamics of savanna ecosystems in the context of global change. My work integrates field ecological data, remote sensing, modelling, and biogeochemistry. I am involved in collaborative research projects with Yale University, Edinburgh University and the University of Liverpool among others which variously work on fire-grazer interactions, inter-continental savanna comparisons, the importance of land-atmosphere feedbacks, and pursuing a global theory of fire. I am closely linked with research projects at the Global Change and Ecosystems group at the CSIR where I hold an affiliate position.

current students

Sibusiso Dlamini - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
My study background is in Agriculture. My Masters research Biological Nitrogen Fixation by Bambara groundnut in Swaziland. Studying the phylogeny, symbiotic functioning and ecological traits of indigenous soil microsymbionts nodulating Bambara sparked my interest in soil microbes. Right now, I am registered under the Soil Microbial Community Ecology Lab and I am investigating soil microbial diversity and their functional traits sampled from grass species at Kruger National Park. Additionally, the study will test the plant growth promoting (PGP) traits of the soil microbes under greenhouse conditions. My research interests are on Plant Physiology and Soil Microbial Ecology and their potential use as biofertilizers in Agriculture and phytoremediation in Mining industries.

Jess Rickenback - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
I am a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, UK. My research focuses on the ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary history of tropical grasslands. These diverse ecosystems are vulnerable to policies of afforestation and fire suppression.

Humbelani Thenga - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
My Research explores the impact of woody plant encroachment (WPE) on soil organic carbon (SOC) in savanna systems with a focus on fundamental questions of: How does WPE affect SOC in magnitude and direction? How litter quality, edaphic factors (e.g. soil physicochemical properties and moisture) and changes in micro-environment (temperature and microbial diversity) mediate these effects? This study will allow us to address some of the burning questions on the role of WPE in sequestering carbon. There is a growing consensus derived from satellite monitoring technique, which suggests that WPE in dry and semi-arid lands is a good nature-based solution for sequestering atmospheric carbon. The major challenge to this simplistic linear thinking is that there is lack of understanding on the mechanisms driving the Net carbon sequestration (plant + soil) and the sustainability of this carbon pool under changing climate compared to that of grasses, which are reportedly more resilient to climate extremes.

Caroline Mashau - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
My research interests cover evolutionary history (phylogeny) and ecology of grasses in Africa. The aim of my project is to understand the range size and dispersal of grasses in Africa with the purpose of quantifying differences between genera and functional types and determining the floral traits that are associated with fire and grazing. I will assess how plant height, evolutionary history and lifespan drive range sizes, and whether this can help to explain which grass species have become invasive outside their native ranges. I am working under supervision of Prof. Sally Archibald and co-supervised by Dr Caroline Lehmann from University of Edinburgh (UK) and Dr Maria Vorontsova from Kew Herbarium (UK).

Mthokozisi Moyo - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
My project focuses on the ecophysiological and biogeographical evidence for the onset of wet-dry seasonality in Africa. The aim of my project is to detect when wet-dry seasonality began in Africa in the late Miocene. I am also looking at the traits that are important for plants and animals to survive in seasonal environments. I will use past fossil records and other paleobotanic evidence to see when these traits evolved in the past. These traits will be used with phylogenetic and paleo-ecological data to test alternative hypotheses on the timing of the spread of seasonally arid systems in Africa. Lastly, I am interested in creating a model of all the factors that control seasonality in Africa. With a changing climate, understanding how plants responded to changes in the past will help us to understand how they may change in the future.

Edith Singini - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
My research interests include climate change ecophysiology and ecology of C3 and C4 plants in savanna ecosystems. For my PhD, I am working with Sally, Brad Ripley (Rhodes University) and Colin Osborne (University of Sheffield) to assess how C3 tree seedlings and C4 grasses respond differentially to water availability and elevated CO2 and how this changes across a rainfall gradient. This will help us understand the interaction between elevated CO2 and water availability as global drivers of woody plant encroachment.

Célia Gomes - Doctor of Philosophy Candidate
I am a PhD student at FCUP/CIBIO-InBIO - Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto/Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Portugal. My main interests are wildlife and ecosystems' conservation and applied ecology.
I am working under the supervision of Dr Martim Melo (CIBIO-InBIO & Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology) and co-supervised by Professor Sally Archibald. The aim of my project is to understand the impact of fire on Angola's Afromontane forests. The objectives are to determine de state of Angola's Afromontane forests, review their importance for conservation and, for the first time, provide a clear picture of the impact that fire has on them. The data to address the objectives of this project will be collected along to main axes: 1) analysis of the role and physical impact of fire on the remaining Afromontane forests of Angola and 2) ecological studies evaluating the impact of fire on forest-dependant biological communities (forests' seed banks and birds).

Londiwe Mokoena - Master of Science Candidate
Becoming a biologist came natural to me, although I strayed at some point but my heart has always been linked to biology from an early age, I find my interests to be vary from global change and sustainability to ecosystem resilience and fire pattern in Savannas. I completed my degree in biological sciences in 2018 at Wits University and I am currently doing my honours degree in Animal, Plants and Environment. My project is on the different drought strategies of perennial C4 grasses in South Africa and how that links to flammability. The project is supervised by Prof Sally Archibald.

Tiisetso Mphela - Master of Science Student
There has been a higher occurrence of fires in forest plantations in more recent years. My Masters research project focuses on understanding what the potential drivers of fires in forest plantations are and what strategies are put in place to mitigate fire risks in these landscapes and to what extent they are implemented. My research interests include climate change, extreme climate events, management strategies in forest plantations specifically, and remote sensing.

Kayla Goodfellow – Honours Degree
From a young age, I have held a fascination for the natural world around me. As I matured, my curiosity deepened, and I became more aware of how human activity impacts the environment. This sparked my interest in the conservation of ecosystems and rehabilitation of those that have been affected by anthropogenic change. I am currently pursuing an honours degree and conducting research under the supervision of Professor Sally Archibald. The focus of my research project is on the recovery of soil macroinvertebrates after ploughing within South African Highveld Grasslands.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Fezile Mtsetfwa, PhD
I am an Interdisciplinary Ecologist with broad research interests in plant ecology, global change ecology and conservation of large trees in savannas. I completed my PhD at the University of Florida where my research focused on understanding impacts of climate and land use changes on the distribution of keystone savanna tree species.
Currently, I work as part of the Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation Future Ecosystems for Africa (FEFA) Program team, on a project quantifying the resilience and dynamics of African woodlands. More specifically, I will be researching on vegetative regeneration dynamics of African woodlands to understand their resilience to prevailing disturbances within these systems.

Penny Mograbi, PhD
I am a Post-Doc in ecosystem dynamics and global change at the School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. I’m interested in the socio-ecology of savannas, particularly in the co-adaptive response of human-environment systems to human use and the response of vegetation communities and ecosystems to multiple pressures. Previously, my Phd focused on landscape-scale structural changes in woody vegetation in communal rangelands across a fuelwood harvesting gradient. Currently, I am exploring the effects of human use (e.g. timber, fuelwood, edible fruit) on southern and eastern African savanna tree biodiversity. I am also the SEOSAW Project Scientist, coordinating the scientific work of the SEOSAW partnership by facilitating the plot data collection and database management, as well as supporting the network of researchers and facilitating knowledge exchange. I am a global fellow and lead author on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES) sustainable use of wild species thematic assessment. I work closely with the LANDteam at the School of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, where I have links to their research projects.

REsearch fellows

Mr Tatenda Gotore, MSc
I am a Forest Ecology and Management Researcher focusing on sustainable harvesting of miombo woodlands. His research, which is collaboratively supported by the Miombo Network (http://miombonetwork.org/) and the SEOSAW Partnership (https://seosaw.github.io/) looks at using a network of tree plot data to inform sustainable utilisation of the miombo woodlands. His research interest is in exploring relationships between biomass accumulation and disturbance (human, fire, elephant) in miombo woodlands and its impact on biomass change, in order to optimise utilisation but also in view of biodiversity conservation and climate change.
Twiter: https://twitter.com/TatendaGotore
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatenda-gotore-38aa2848/

Tanaya Nair, MSc
Tanaya (she/her) is an early career ecologist and artist from India. She is a visiting research student at the Archibald lab and is otherwise based at the Environmental Change Institute at University of Oxford. Her research interests in biodiversity resilience and nature recovery expand across scale (from fine scale to macro scale) and across various biomes (savannas, grasslands, forests). Here, she is using the latest microclimate modelling techniques to model frost at fine scales across Southern African grasslands. In addition to ecology, she also has a professional and educational background in dance and yoga and is interested in finding ways to bring together art and science in meaningful, inclusive, and collaborative settings.