PCU research featured in German newspaper article and on UCT website

Near the village of Gawukeni, in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.  Shrubs and low trees have invaded the abandoned fields in the centre of the image resulting in extensive ‘bush encroachment’ which is widespread in the region.  Original photo taken by D.M. Commins in 1958 and the repeat photograph by PCU PhD candidate James Puttick 53 years later in 2011.

The Plant Conservation Unit’s research on landscape change using repeat photography has recently been featured in a German newspaper article as well as being highlighted by the University of Cape Town in their ‘Research at UCT’ feature. 

The article describes the long-standing interest that the PCU Director, Professor Timm Hoffman has had in repeat photography and some of the changes that he, together with several colleagues and students have observed in southern African landscapes over the last 25 years. The articles have generated a lot of interest – especially the interactive feature of having a ‘slider’ that allows you to see changes between a set of photographs. We are planning to make more use of this interactive feature on the Plant Conservation Unit website, as well as the related rePhotoSA website. While the slider is not functional in the above photograph, you can see how it operates in the original articles. 

The original article (available here) was written by Norbert Lossau, Head of Science of ‘Die Welt’ – a German national daily newspaper. A translation of this article was featured UCT’s website and is available here. 

Article by Esther Mostert