Skip to Content

Dr Mmoto Masubelele

Dr Mmoto Masubelele

Landscape Ecologist

Email: [email protected]

Education

  • BSc (Botany and Zoology), 2001, University of Venda
  • BSc Honours (Botany), 2002, University of Venda
  • Certificate for GIS Basics Course, 2007, University of Pretoria
  • MSc (Botany), 2007, University of Cape Town
  • Certificate for Photo-Journalism and Digital Asset Management Course, 2009, University of Cape Town
  • PhD (Botany), 2012, University of Cape Town
  • Certificate for Climate Change Effects on Terrestrial Ecosystems, 2012, University of Bergen.

Research Focus and Interest

  • Landscape and vegetation ecology
  • Habitat change, persistence and degradation in Cape parks
  • Benchmarks for soil and vegetation degradation in Cape parks (alternative stable states and transition models)
  • Nutrient cycling in arid lands
  • Repeat photography as a tool for biodiversity monitoring
  • Climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation in national parks

Publications

Journal Articles

Masubelele, M.L. and Bond, W.J. (In review). How does grass litter get to the soil in tropical savanna grasslands, South Africa? Ecology and Evolution.

Annecke, W. and Masubelele, M. (In review). What role does the military play in protected area conservation? A review of the international literature in relation to rhino poaching. Conservation and Society.

Masubelele M.L., Hoffman, M.T. and Bond, W.J. (2015). Biome stability and long-term vegetation change in the semi-arid Karoo Midlands, South Africa: A synthesis of repeat photo monitoring. South African Journal of Botany. Available online since 19 June 2015). doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2015.06.001

Masubelele, M.L., Hoffman, M.T. and Bond, W.J. (2015). A repeat photograph analysis of long-term vegetation change in semi-arid South Africa in response to land use and climate. Journal of Vegetation Science. doi: 10.1111/jvs.12303

Nyalungu, N., Hodgson, A., Froneman, P., Dopolo, M. and Masubelele, M. (2014). Temporal and spatial variability in the abundance, biomass and distribution of Palaemon peringueyi (Decapoda: Crustacea) are influenced by biological but not physico-chemical factors in the permanently open Kariega Estuary, South Africa. African Journal of Aquatic Science 39:435-442.

Masubelele, M.L., Hoffman, M.T., Bond, W.J. and Gambiza, J. (2014). A 50 year study shows grasslands expanding into shrublands in semi-arid South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments. 104: 43-51

Masubelele, M.L., Hoffman, M.T., Bond, W. and Burdett, P. (2013). Vegetation change (1988-2010) in Camdeboo National Park (South Africa), using fixed-point photo monitoring: The role of herbivory and climate. Koedoe 55(1): Art. #112. 16 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v55i1.1127.

Masubelele, M.L., Hoffman, M.T. and Bond, W.J. (2012). Long-term vegetation change (1900-2010) in the Karoo Midlands biomes with climate and land use as drivers change. South African Journal of Botany, 79, 198.

Masubelele, M.L., Foxcroft, L.C. and Milton, S.J. (2009). Alien plant species list and distribution for Camdeboo National Park, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Koedoe 51(1): Art. #515, 10 pp.

Masubelele, M.L., Bond, W.J. and Stock, W.D. (2007). How savanna grasses decompose? South African Journal of Botany 73(2): 301.

Masubelele, M.L. and Bond, W.J. (2006). Photodegradation and carryover among mesic and semi-arid grasslands. South African Journal of Botany 72(2): 325.

Technical and Scientific Reports

Masubelele, M.L. (2012). Understanding the past to conserve the future: Long-term environmental and vegetation change in the Karoo Midlands, South Africa over the 20th Century (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town).

Masubelele, M.L. (2007). Decomposition of grasses in a South African savanna (Masters dissertation, University of Cape Town).