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Tracy Benning, assistant professor of environmental science, gathering plant and soil samples in Kruger National Park.
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Professor’s Lab is South African Wildlife Park
Tracy Benning’s interest in fires and floods may be a key to a new ecological movement in understanding the natural cycle of catastrophe and replenishment.
The assistant professor of environmental science is one of three co-authors of a study of ecosystems in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The wildlife refuge, one of the oldest in the world, has become Benning’s laboratory for understanding how river areas, called riparian, interact with drier, upland areas. One of her points of interest is how natural floods and fires act as a catalyst for replenishment and guarantors of biodiversity.
“There has been a loss of biodiversity because man’s management has changed the grass and trees,” Benning said. By keeping wild areas free of fire and diverting rivers to safeguard against floods, she explained, man may have inadvertently created static environments that may no longer be replenished as part of nature’s dynamic system. (For example, forests in the Pacific Northwest that do not burn are subject to more disease and insect infestation). Investigating the effects of man’s management is part of her study.
With funding from the Mellon Foundation, Benning and colleagues teamed up in 2001 with South African ecologists and built a small lab in the northern part of the park. There, they gather water and soil samples for analysis to figure out how the area is acting in the context of the season or whatever natural processes are occurring, such as grazing by wild animals. They also look at satellite photos of the area to compare ancient floodplain activity with what is happening currently.
“It’s challenging to know all the factors that go into it,” Benning said. “Our goal is to understand management of the overall system.”
Benning was recently granted an additional $400,000 from the foundation to continue her study, which she says will continue for at least the next three years. She plans to use the money to build a larger lab near the park’s Sabie River in the south with more up-to-date technology.
Benning’s study has ramifications for resource management in all parts of the world. By understanding the way river ecosystems interact with savannah, people will be better equipped to manage natural resources in partnership with nature.
“Nothing has been previously done at the landscape level like we’re doing,” Benning said. “It’s resource management in action.”
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