Grassroots September 2016, Vol. 16, No. 3

Editor’s Note H ere we go! It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the third Grassroots instalment of 2016 – a special issue. The ‘special issue’ status was assigned due to the following aspects:1) this issue includes GSSA51 congress reports; 2) Grassroots goes digital parallel with the hardcopy; and 3) this is my first Grassroots publication after being appointed as the new publications editor .. Having said that, I have colossal shoes to fill after the great work that Pieter Swanepoel and his te team am have done the past two years– years I salute you. The GSSA51 congress in Wilderness was a huge success. The scientific content of the congress was of international-standard. standard. We also held our first quiz evening which was rather fun despite some technical glit glitches. Thank you to the Organising Committee who made it possible – the amount of work and preparation that goes on behind the curtain is mind boggling – respect. This issue not only focuses on congress reports, but also includes some interesting news artic articles and feature articles. Climate change remains a hot topic therefore we look at 2016 climate trends, the affect thereof on water quality and the proposed SA carbon tax. South Africa’s second most invasive tree is in the lime light and global biodiversity reaches worrying levels. Also, read more on virtual reality as a possible conservation tool and the science of honest sampling. Remotely piloted aircrafts (or drones) opens up a whole new dimension in the agricultural sector such as precision farming and monitoring of rangelands – read more on this fascinating feature article. I would like to invite you to submit your knowledge to Grassroots,, let it be news, important dates, events, feedback, feature articles, anything – we love it. Dig out all the unpublished shed data, clean out the office and submit. Let’s continue to make Grassroots a hub of knowledge and excellence. Enjoy this one! Josef van Wyngaard Grassroots September 2016 Vol 16 No. 3

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