2016

Read more about the article The potential for high intensity fires to be used to reverse bush encroachment in the Kruger National Park
Large-scale fire experiment in Kruger National Park, South Africa, used to test the effectiveness of high intensity fires for reducing the cover of woody shrubs (Photo credit: Izak Smit)
2016 / News

The potential for high intensity fires to be used to reverse bush encroachment in the Kruger National Park

Repeated high-intensity fires can reduce bush encroachment, but they also speed up the loss of tall trees. These findings came from a recent study by a team of researchers including C·I·B Core Team Member, Brian van Wilgen, and were published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

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1 August 2016
Read more about the article Balancing non-target risks – biological control agents and their alien plant hosts
The highly invasive alien plant, Lantana camara in Australia and South Africa (Photo credit: By I, Mercewiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2256748)
2016 / News

Balancing non-target risks – biological control agents and their alien plant hosts

A recent study in the scientific journal, BioControl, proposes a framework that will improve decision making around the approval and release of biological control agents.

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27 July 2016
Read more about the article Reducing uncertainty in invasion threats of agricultural crop pests: lurking danger of Natal fruit fly?
A male specimen of the Natal fruit fly (Ceratitis rosa Karsch), the morphotype R2 from South Africa (Photo credit: AP Malan)
2016 / News

Reducing uncertainty in invasion threats of agricultural crop pests: lurking danger of Natal fruit fly?

How do we know if a pest insect is likely to become invasive and a threat in the future? When and where should we take action to prevent further invasion?

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22 July 2016
Read more about the article How to prioritise inspections at borders to prevent invasions
Wikimedia Commons (1), SkyPixels (2) 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Cape_Town#/media/File:Port_of_Cape_Town.jpg 2. http://www.skypixels.co.za/
2016 / News

How to prioritise inspections at borders to prevent invasions

According to research conducted by C·I·B post-doctoral fellow Katelyn Faulkner (with C·I·B core team members Mark Robertson, Mathieu Rouget and John Wilson), border control should focus on vectors that transport many alien species from countries with climates similar to that of South Africa.

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18 July 2016
Read more about the article “Bold steps” needed to improve management of invasive pines
Photo by Brian van Wilgen
2016 / News

“Bold steps” needed to improve management of invasive pines

“Bold steps” are needed to improve the management of specifically invasive pines in protected areas of the Cape Floral Region (CFR), researchers from several of South Africa’s major environmental organisations warn.

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11 July 2016