Stephni van der Merwe

Stephni van der Merwe started as a postdoc at SEEC and SANBI in 2024 and has broad interests in plant ecology at various spatial and temporal scales. She is currently working on the Spatial Biodiversity Assessment Planning and Prioritisation project, which aims to map and understand the ecological condition of all biomes in South Africa. During her PhD, she researched the causes and consequences of vegetation change in the rapidly warming sub-Antarctic, using species distribution modelling to understand predicted changes and repeat photography to analyse observed vegetation change. Her interests include utilising spatial tools, such as remote sensing data and species distribution models, complemented by field observational data, to understand spatial patterns in global change drivers and disturbance regimes in South Africa’s biomes.