Stellenbosch University’s Eucalyptus research programme gets R20 million boost
With total funding of nearly R20 million over five years (2024 – 2028), researchers at the Hans Merensky Chair in Advanced Modelling of Eucalypt Growth and Wood Formation (EucXylo) at Stellenbosch University (SU) are well placed to take their work on Eucalyptus to the next level.
Housed in SU’s Department of Forest and Wood Science and led by Prof Dave Drew, the EucXylo programme was recently granted over R17 million from the Hans Merensky Legacy Foundation, which has been funding the ten-year initiative since 2019.
In addition, EucXylo secured R2,7 million through the Department of Science and Innovation’s Sector Innovation Fund, administered by Forestry South Africa (FSA) for the industry.
“We are grateful to the Hans Merensky Legacy Foundation and FSA for this investment in our programme. It opens a wide range of possibilities to explore several new frontiers in forest science research,” says Drew.
“Eucalypts are fascinating. They are the world’s largest flowering trees and an important backbone of the sustainable forest products industry in South Africa. The EucXylo programme contributes important basic and applied research to understand key questions our industry faces. We are also training a new generation of biological and forest scientists for South Africa”.
Over the next five-year phase, a centrepiece of the EucXylo programme will be implementing the IMPACT Open-Air Laboratory (OAL) at Lourensford farm near Somerset West in the Western Cape.
“In partnership with the owners and management of the farm, a ten-hectare research facility is being established, with the planting of trees in a comprehensive design planned for April 2024. This flagship facility will have cutting-edge monitoring technology using state-of-the-art sensor systems connected to the Internet of Things, remote sensing systems including advanced LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology and detailed characterisation of site and environmental variables,” explains Drew.
Later this year, the IMPACT OAL will open to scientists and students interested in researching plantation forest ecology and how trees (and eucalypts in particular) grow and form wood. The facility will invite the public to experience excellent forest science and better understand sustainable wood and fibre production processes.
Chris Pienaar, a trustee of the foundation’s Board, says, “One of Dr Merensky’s legacies was the sustainable management of Eucalyptus trees. The Board is committed to working with Prof Drew and SU to advance our collective knowledge of how these remarkable trees grow and how modern science can add to economic prosperity. In addition, we take pride in developing young minds through this collaboration”.
Echoing the sentiments of Drew and Pienaar, the deputy vice-chancellor for research, innovation and postgraduate studies at SU, Prof Sibusiso Moyo, commented, “We are very pleased to partner with the Hans Merensky Legacy Foundation on the exciting next phase of the EucXylo project. Its focus on cutting-edge forest science and sustainable forest management is an excellent example of a programme that brings brilliant people into the university and connects researchers.” SU’s Department of Forest and Wood Science is the only university in South Africa offering a comprehensive four-year BSc degree programme in forest science and wood products science, thereby covering the entire forestry value chain.
It is also the only tertiary institution providing an educational offering at BSc, MSc and PhD levels in forest science and natural resource and wood products science. The department strives to produce versatile managers and researchers for the wood processing and timber growing industries with the skills to manage and understand all the intricacies of technology transfer.
Source: WoodBiz Magazine – February 2024 (Page 30)
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