Fieldwork in the Karoo

Plant Conservation Unit Masters student Hana Petersen, along with Sam Jack, completed another field data collection trip last week in the prospective shale gas exploration area of the central Karoo. They braved the cold weather and sampled four sites between Sutherland and Fraserburg using the modified Whittaker plot sampling method - an intensive ecological sampling technique based on observation which captures presence-only species diversity and richness.

Characteristic of spring time, many interesting species were present and all blooming. Locals reported that after recent heavy rains, Sutherland is currently the greenest it's been in the past few years. Hana's project forms part of SANBI's Karoo BioGaps project, aimed at filling biodiversity information gaps in the Karoo. Here are some photos from their recent trip