Susi Vetter

BSc. Hons., PhD (U.C.T.)

My research interests include rangeland ecology, vegetation ecology, land degradation and the social and cultural aspects of resource management and biodiversity conservation. Recent research projects include: The role of key resources in the Richtersveld National Park: implications for livestock population dynamics and biodiversity conservation (NRF funded) and Understanding people’s valuation of landscapes, vegetation types and vegetation condition in relation to use value, biodiversity and aesthetic qualities (SANPAD funded). My most recent research interest is the ecological dynamics and socio-economic implications of Acacia karroo encroachment in the Eastern Cape.

At undergraduate and Honours level I teach a range of theoretical and applied ecological topics, including the biomes of South Africa, biological invasions, plant use and its impacts and management, plant-herbivore interactions, plant life histories, competition and coexistence in plant communities, savanna ecology and population viability analysis.

Publications:

Vetter S and Bond WJ. Changing predictors of spatial and temporal variability in stocking rates in a severely degraded communal rangeland. Land Degradation & Development (published online: 28 Dec 2010).

Vetter S. 2009. Drought, change and resilience in South Africa’s arid and semiarid rangelands. South African Journal of Science 29-33.

Behenna M, Vetter S and Fourie S (2008) Viability of alien and native seed banks after slash and burn: effects of soil moisture, depth of burial and fuel load. South African Journal of Botany 74: 454-462.

Vetter S (2007) Soil erosion in the Herschel District of South Africa: changes over time, physical correlates and people’s perceptions. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 24: 77-86.

Campbell B, Gordon I, Luckert M, Petheram L and Vetter S (2006) In search of optimal stocking regimes in semi-arid grazing lands: one size does not fit all. Ecological Economics 60: 75-85.

Vetter, S., Goqwana, W.M., Bond, W.J. and Trollope, W.S.W. 2006. Effects of land tenure, geology and topography on vegetation and soils of two grassland types in South Africa. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 23:13-27.

Vetter, S. 2005. Rangelands at equilibrium and non-equilibrium: Recent developments in the debate. Journal of Arid Environments 62: 321-241.

Pauw, A., Van Bael, S.A., Peters, H.A., Allison, S.D., Camargo, J.L.C., Cifuentes-Jara, M., Conserva, A., Garcia Restom, T., Heartsill-Scalley, T., Mangan, S.A., Nunez-Iturri, G., Rivera-Ocasio, E., Rountree, M., Vetter, S. and Volkmer de Castilho, C.2004. Physical damage in relation to carbon allocation strategies of tropical forest tree saplings. Biotropica 36(3):410-413.

Scogings, P.F., de Bruyn, T.D. and Vetter, S. 1999. Grazing into the future: Policy-making for South African communal rangelands. Development Southern Africa 16:403-414.