Publications
Benefits of Farming – in partnership with nature
Is likely that you have heard or read about soil health. Also, that soil health is intricately linked to the animals – big and small – that inhabit our farmlands. Maybe you have already implemented agricultural practices that restore biodiversity and improve the capacity of your soil to deliver vital services such as nutrient cycling and the control of erosion. The truth…. Read more here
Diverse grondlewe kan menslike gesondkeid baat
In the latest issue of Landbou Weekblad, SERG member Charlene Janion-Scheepers (UCT) and her colleagues discuss how healthy, diverse soils can reduce soil-borne diseases.
Gesonde grond beteken ‘n gesonde lewe
In the final of a three-series article in the Landbou Weekblad, SERG members Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Schalk Louw discuss the threats to soil biodiversity and what can be done to reduce them.
Om the meet is om te weet
In the second of a three-series article in the Landbou Weekblad, SERG members Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Schalk Louw discuss how to measure soil health using different indicators.
Gesonde grond, groter wins
In the first of a three-series article in the widely read Landbou Weekblad, SERG members Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Schalk Louw discuss the importance of soil biodiversity in agriculture.
Collecting and Preserving Namatodes.
The manual was published by editors Dr. Antoinette Swart and Dr. Mariette Marais of the ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute.
The content of this manual is broadly based on the SAFRINET manual published in 1997, authored by Dr. K.P.N. Kleynhans. The book is aimed at teaching students, commercial and emerging farmers, and extension officers to recognise the major groups of plant parasitic nematodes as well as the damage symptoms that they cause on different crops. Current techniques for extracting, detecting and handling nematodes, preserving techniques as well as nematode control are also included. A glossary on the meaning of often-used nematological terms and a list of recommended reading end the book.
To order this book contact Antoinette Swart – SwartA@arc.agric.za
Read more about Nematode identification services and products here
The choice of agricultural landscape has an influence on crop (and soil) health.
Agricultural landscapes are by implication complex adaptive systems, tailored by anthropogenic interference. The relationship between structure and function, e.g. trophic structures, diversity – productivity connections and nutrient fluctuation patterns of such landscapes is fundamental in their organization, whether self-driven or regulated.
Benefits of Farming – in partnership with nature
Is likely that you have heard or read about soilhealth. Also, that soil health is intricately linkedto the animals – big and small – that inhabit our farmlands. Maybe you have already implemented agricultural practices that restore biodiversityand improve the capacity of your soil to delivervital services such as nutrient cycling and the controlof erosion. The truth…. Read more here
Diverse grondlewe kan menslike gesondkeid baat
In the latest issue of Landbou Weekblad, SERG member Charlene Janion-Scheepers (UCT) and her colleagues discuss how healthy, diverse soils can reduce soil-borne diseases.
Link here for Landbou Weekblad online
Gesonde grond beteken ‘n gesonde lewe
In the final of a three-series article in the Landbou Weekblad, SERG members Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Schalk Louw discuss the threats to soil biodiversity and what can be done to reduce them.
Link here for Landbou Weekblad online
Om the meet is om te weet
In the second of a three-series article in the Landbou Weekblad, SERG members Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Schalk Louw discuss how to measure soil health using different indicators.
Link here for Landbou Weekblad online
Gesonde grond, groter wins
In the first of a three-series article in the widely read Landbou Weekblad, SERG members Charlene Janion-Scheepers and Schalk Louw discuss the importance of soil biodiversity in agriculture.
Link here for Landbou Weekblad online
New Nematode book – Collecting and Preserving Namatodes.
The manual was published by editors Dr. Antoinette Swart and Dr. Mariette Marais of the ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute.
The content of this manual is broadly based on the SAFRINET manual published in 1997, authored by Dr. K.P.N. Kleynhans. The book is aimed at teaching students, commercial and emerging farmers, and extension officers to recognise the major groups of plant parasitic nematodes as well as the damage symptoms that they cause on different crops. Current techniques for extracting, detecting and handling nematodes, preserving techniques as well as nematode control are also included. A glossary on the meaning of often-used nematological terms and a list of recommended reading end the book.
To order this book contact Antoinette Swart – SwartA@arc.agric.za
Read more about Nematode identification services and products here
Porosphere soil from a wheat field, western
Free State province, South Africa.
The choice of agricultural landscape has an influence on crop (and soil) health.
Agricultural landscapes are by implication complex adaptive systems, tailored by anthropogenic interference. The relationship between structure and function, e.g. trophic structures, diversity – productivity connections and nutrient fluctuation patterns of such landscapes is fundamental in their organization, whether self-driven or regulated.
What lies beneath: South Africa’s megadiversity of soil biota
Following the the publication by Janion-Scheepers et al., SERG was invited to write a series of blogs about South Africa’s soil biodiversity that featured on the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative’s (GSBI) widely read blog, “Beneath our Feet”.
You can read our blogs here:
What lies beneath: South Africa’s megadiversity of soil biota Part I: What is SERG? – Read more
Soil biota in a megadiverse country: current knowledge and future research directions in South Africa.
Janion-Scheepers, C., Measey, J., Braschler, B., Chown, S.L., Coetzee, L., Colville, J.F., Dames, J., Davies, A.B., Davies, S., Davis, A., Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S., Duffy, G.A., Fourie, D., Griffiths, C., Haddad, C.R., Hamer, M., Herbert, D., Hugo-Coetzee, E.A., Jacobs, A., Jacobs,. K., Jansen van Rensburg, C., Lamani, S., Lotz, L.N., Louw, S.vdM., Lyle, R., Malan, A.P., Marais, M., Neethling, J.-A., Nxele, T., Plisko, D., Prendini, L., Rink, A.N., Swart, A., Theron, P., Truter, M., Ueckermann, E., Uys, V.M., Villet, M.H., Willows-Munrow, S. & Wilson, J.R. 2016. Soil biota in a megadiverse country: current knowledge and future research directions in South Africa. Pedobiologia 59, pp 129-174. Doi: 10.1016/j.pedobi.2016.03.004
