SEOSAW Newsletter — August 2026

The latest SEOSAW newsletter covers changes in the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) and an opportunity to join the SSC. We also have lots of exciting field and research updates from across the network.

Also available as a PDF. SEOSAW sends newsletters to highlight the work of our partners and provide updates on protocols, training, and opportunities. Join the mailing list.

SEOSAW Newsletter — January 2026

The latest SEOSAW newsletter covers recent fieldwork, new publications, and updates from across the network.

Also available as a PDF. SEOSAW sends newsletters to highlight the work of our partners and provide updates on protocols, training, and opportunities. Join the mailing list.

Updated SEOSAW Science Plan

SEOSAW has a new Science Plan, replacing the 2018 inception plan. Developed by the SSC, it sets out the key scientific and policy questions to address over the next five years, spanning vegetation demographics, biodiversity, functional ecology, and policy and land management.

Zambia Permanent Vegetation Plots Workshop

Around 20 participants from Zambia and southern Africa gathered at Copperbelt University (CBU) to review the status of permanent sample plots for long-term vegetation monitoring. The workshop was co-led by Prof. Sally Archibald (WITS) and Prof. Stephen Syampungani (CBU), and focused on strengthening Zambia's PSP network, positioning CBU as a hub for SEOSAW activities, and improving data use and regional collaboration. Colleagues from CIFOR and the Zambian Forestry Department noted the initiative's value for national policy.

15 years of PSP data in Kilwa, Tanzania

From September to December 2025, 21 permanent sample plots in Kilwa, Tanzania were re-censused — the 5th census for 13 plots and the 6th for 5 others, extending continuous data collection to 15 years. The campaign was led by PhD students Thomas Malima (Sokoine University of Agriculture) and Oliver McFarlane (University of Edinburgh), in collaboration with long-time SEOSAW partners Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative (MCDI).

New plots in Zimbabwe's Baikiaea woodlands

Praxedes (Vimbai) Rukuni (WITS, supervised by Dr Justice Muvengwi) has established 8 new 1 ha permanent sample plots in Zimbabwe's Zambezi teak (Baikiaea plurijuga) woodlands — 5 in gazetted forests (Gwampa and Gwaai state forests) and 3 in communal lands (Nkayi and Lupane). Most SEOSAW PSPs are in relatively protected landscapes, making these plots in lived-in landscapes a valuable addition to the network's coverage.

Bio-Bridge project — coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania

Led by Dr Itambo Malombe (National Museums of Kenya) and funded by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's Bio-Bridge Initiative, this project is strengthening community capacity to conserve threatened species in eastern coastal forest biodiversity hotspots. Since June 2025, the project has established 2 new SEOSAW PSPs in coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania — data from which have been used to conclude that these forests meet IUCN Key Biodiversity Area criteria. Two community workshops were held covering indigenous knowledge and PSP data collection.

SEOSAW research from 2025

A productive year for SEOSAW-affiliated research, including new work on understorey biomass, savanna carbon, forest transitions, and biomass mapping.

• Diesse et al. — Quantifying unseen woody biomass and diversity in understorey trees and shrubs at the extremes of water availability in the Miombo ecoregion. Forest Ecosystems
• Williams et al. — Precipitation–fire functional interactions control biomass stocks and carbon exchanges across the world's largest savanna. Biogeosciences
• Rodríguez-Veiga et al. — Loss of tropical moist broadleaf forest has turned Africa's forests from a carbon sink into a source. Scientific Reports
• Muledi et al. — Allometric equations for aboveground biomass estimation in wet Miombo forests of the DRC using terrestrial LiDAR. Environments

New Scientific Steering Committee members

Phesheya Dlamini, Rhett Harrison, Daud Kachamba, and Itambo Malombe joined the SSC in 2024.

New papers from SEOSAW partners

New papers on biomass dynamics, forest management, savanna monitoring, and species distributions across the network.

• Gotore et al. — Woody biomass increases across three contrasting land uses in Hurungwe, Zimbabwe
• Njoghomi & Mugasha — Simulation of stand dynamics for miombo woodlands in Kitulangalo, Tanzania
• Mogonong et al. — Vegetation description around the savanna flux site at Benfontein, South Africa
• Davies et al. — Precipitation gradients drive high tree species turnover in the woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. Ecography

Growth Rates Workshop

Tatenda Gotore and John Godlee ran an online workshop on calculating tree growth rates from SEOSAW permanent plot data. Materials are open to all.

Past newsletters

All SEOSAW newsletters from 2021 onwards.

• April 2024 · PDF
• October 2023 · PDF
• March 2023 · PDF
• July 2023 · PDF
• December 2022 · PDF
• August 2022 · PDF
• May 2022 · PDF
• February 2022 · PDF
• November 2021 · PDF