Commemorating three decades of the Southern African association of geomorphologists

The launch of SAAG

Studies on the geomorphology of southern African have a long history extending back to the pioneering work in the early parts of the 20^th Century by Dixey, Wellington and King, amongst others (see Beckedahl et al., 2002). However, it took several decades before a coordinated effort was launched to organize and formalize geomorphology locally. Following the initiatives of the First International Conference on Geomorphology at the University of Manchester in 1985, a Symposium on the Geomorphology of Southern Africa was held in the Eastern Cape at the University of Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University) in Umtata (Mthata) in 1988. The Symposium was preceded by an excursion through the then Transkei, and was followed by a two-week excursion through southern Africa. Two important publications stemmed from this meeting. The first was the symposium proceedings, entitled Geomorphological Studies in Southern Africa (Dardis & Moon, 1988) and the second, a textbook, The Geomorphology of Southern Africa (Moon & Dardis, 1988) that served for many decades as the seminal texts of southern African geomorphology.

Targeting the imminent inauguration of the International Association of Geomorphology (IAG) planned for The Second International Geomorphology Conference in 1992 in Canada, the 1988 local geomorphology symposium in Mthata provided the platform to launch the Southern African Association of Geomorphologists (SAAG). In 1990 at the University of Bophuthatswana in Mafikeng (now part of the North-West University), the SAAG was launched through the acceptance of a constitution and the election of its first President, Heinz Beckedahl. After the official inauguration of the IAG in 1992, the SAAG became an affiliate member to the international association.

Biennial conferences and research sub-themes

SAAG conferences are organized on a biennial basis. The only interruption of the two-year sequence since 1988 was a three-year hiatus after the 2012 meeting. This was caused by the SAAG having to re-align the annual stagger of meetings with the Society of South Africa Geographers (SSAG) after the SSAG 2013 meeting was postponed to 2014. In traditional fashion, these regular SAAG meetings serve as the platform for the presentation of recent and ongoing geomorphological research topics in the sub-continent and are typically well-attended by 50–60 delegates. The 2019 biennial conference was thus an opportunity to celebrate the passing of three decades of geomorphology in southern Africa under the auspices of the SAAG.

Southern African geomorphology, within the broader field of physical geography, has been systematically reviewed (see Moon, 1989; Moon & Partridge, 1993) and particularly over the past two decades (e.g., Beckedahl et al., 2002; Fox & Rowntree, 2000; P. J. Holmes & Meadows, 2012; Holmes et al., 2016; P.J Holmes & Boardman, 2018; Meadows, 2007). From the earlier reviews it is clear that a strong tectonic and macro-geomorphology theme dominated research in the first half of the last century with erosion, land degradation and applied research gaining prominence in the latter half (Beckedahl et al., 2002). Holmes et al. (2016) summarize the more recent research into six dominant sub-themes, namely fluvial geomorphology, glacial and periglacial geomorphology, rock weathering, arid and semi-arid geomorphology, coastal and estuarine geomorphology and applied geomorphology. Landscape change and the role of geomorphology in the Quaternary and contemporary environmental settings remain as recurring themes (see e.g., Grab & Knight, 2015; Holmes, 2019).

Following from the 2012 SAAG conference in Namibia, Sumner et al. (2013) noted that the broader, regional context, is one of dryness and this is reflected in the high proportion of arid and semi-arid paper topics delivered at the Gobabeb (Namibia) meeting (Table 1). Over the past five SAAG conferences, the dominant theme, constituting around a third of presented papers (32%) (Table 1), is on soils, soil erosion, conservation and degradation. Broadly, this reflects on the erodibility of the southern African landscape but also on the applied nature of much of southern African geomorphological research. This is also apparent in other sub-fields, including rock weathering and fluvial studies (see Holmes et al., 2016) with the latter always providing a strong sub-field contribution to SAAG conference presentations (15%) (Table 1).

Table 1. Poster and oral presentation contributions at SAAG conferences since 2010. Subfields are broadly based on the categories used by Beckedahl et al. (2002) and Holmes et al. (2016). Applied aspects are subsumed into the respective subfields. Cold-climate geomorphology includes all presentations from the SANAP programmes (see text). Papers based on cosmogenic dating techniques are classified separately to emphasize the recent contribution of the technique to geomorphological research

Number of conference presentations in sub-fields	2010 Grahamstown, South Africa	2012 Gobabeb, Namibia	2015 Sani Pass, Lesotho	2017 Kwaluseni, Eswatini	2019 Chintsa, South Africa	Average % and [number]
Fluvial geomorphology	5	8	5	12	2	14.6
Cold climate geomorphology	5	5	11	2	8	14.9
Arid and semi-arid geomorphology	4	10	1	1	2	8.3
Soils, soil erosion and degradation	21	7	12	14	14	32.2
Coastal and estuarine geomorphology	0	1	0	0	0	0.4
Macro- and Quaternary geomorphology	0	5	3	1	0	4.1
Rock weathering	1	3	1	2	2	4.2
Slope processes	3	0	4	0	1	3.8
Biogeomorphology	2	2	2	5	0	5.0
Research based on cosmogenic dating techniques	1	0	1	2	7	5.6
Other	2	4	2	6	1	6.8
Total presentations	44	45	42	45	37	[43]

Cold climate studies have also contributed significantly to SAAG conference topics (15%), possible inspired in the last decade, in a similar manner to the desert setting in 2012, by the Sani Pass location of the conference in 2015 (Table 1). While southern African glacial and periglacial studies contributed approximately a quarter of local publications and presentations in the latter part of the last century (Beckedahl et al., 2002) there has been a decline over the past decade in presentations in this sub-field. However, it is interesting to note that since 2010, of the 31 presentations on ‘cold climates’, 24 present research on Antarctica and Marion Island. This is largely due to SAAG members being participants in the South African National Antarctic Programmes (Nel et al., 2021). Despite coastal and estuarine geomorphology enjoying some prominence locally (Holmes et al., 2016; P. J. Holmes & Meadows, 2012) there has been little presented on this theme at SAAG conferences over the past decade (Table 1), although a preconference fieldtrip in 2017 did include aspects of the coastal geomorphology north of the Thukela River.

SAAG 2019 and the call for papers

With the previous three conferences held in truly southern African locations, namely in Namibia (2012), Lesotho (2015) and Eswatini (Swaziland, 2017), the conference returned to the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 2019. The Chintsa meeting was convened by the University of Fort Hare and incorporated the IGU (International Geographical Union) COMLAND (Commission on Land Degradation and Desertification) for whom a special session was organized through Rhodes University. A special session also focussed on cosmogenic nuclides in geomorphology convened through the National Research Foundation’s iThemba LABS. Members from the University of the Free State and Rhodes University organized a preconference field trip focussing on soil erosion in the Eastern Cape. Following this theme, members from the Universities of Eswatini and Pretoria convened a post-conference workshop on erosion process, land degradation and rehabilitation. Together with the COMLAND special session, soil erosion and rehabilitation was thus a dominant theme at the conference. The special session on the use of cosmogenic nuclide dating also provided further impetus to the theme first reported at the SAAG conference in 2015.

Historically, students and young-scientists always features prominently in presentations and attendance at SAAG events. This in part led to the 2019 call for research papers, which must not only reflect on the SAAG 30-year period, but also highlight student and young-scientist geomorphological research findings. For this special issue, and given the extensive reviews of southern African geomorphology that have already been published, SAAG called for papers that review projects not yet fully reported on that include new initiatives, as well as articles that specifically involve students, young- or emerging-scientists, as lead or co-authors.

Reflecting on past and current research

Two papers from the SAAG conference-call report on ‘off-shore’ international programmes since the late 1990’s that include southern African geomorphologists, students and co-workers from abroad. Nel et al. (2021) summarize the Marion Island research project that has been operating since 1996 under the auspices of the South African Antarctic Programme. In a series of vignettes, Nel et al. (2021) present new findings on a variety of sub-themes from this periglacial setting, including synoptic classifications, erosion caused by ground-ice, soil-frost gradients across the island, aeolian sediment activity and a revisit to the glacial history using cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating. Sumner et al. (2021) provide an overview of collaborative South Africa and Mauritius-based research on soil erosion on Mauritius. Erosion modelling and land-use change at a catchment scale in the early work progressed to studies on process and landforms on both Mauritius and Round Island. Several erosion issues described by Sumner et al. (2021), particularly the coastal susceptibility to tourism development and climate change, can be applied in South Africa and on other African islands.

Cosmogenic nuclide dating has come to prominence over the past two decades as a tool to unravel the history of landscape processes in southern Africa. First presented as a technique at the 2015 Sani Pass conference, the 2019 gathering dedicated a thematic session to the topic that incorporated seven presentations by established and emerging scientists. In a summary, Makhubela et al. (2021) describe the contribution of cosmogenic nuclides to the understanding of landscape evolution in southern Africa and present a compilation of cosmogenic nuclide denudation data that reflect on processes since the late Cenozoic. This technique is adding invaluable new perspectives on the geomorphic development of the sub-continent and has the potential to revive the macro-geomorphological focus that was so prominent within SAAG during the last century.

For their contribution, Stander et al. (2021) review fingerprinting techniques and applications to tracing sediment in southern Africa. They present an overview of the methodological sequence and recommend the application of sediment tracing at erosion hotspots and locations where duplex soils are expected to be highly erodible. Continuing with the erosion theme that dominated the 2019 meeting, Le Roux and van der Waal (2020) present their susceptibility modelling of the catchment visited in the preconference excursion where duplex and dispersive soils are particularly erodible. In Namibia, van der Merwe (2021) considers barchan dune asymmetry and shows a size-form dependence that speculates on allometric thresholds for the dune type. The final two papers from the SAAG 2019 call for papers, present specialized techniques in geomorphology and conservation. Vickery and Eckardt (2021) evaluate the application of QEMSCAN (an automated scanning microscopy technique) in aerosol studies by comparing airborne and surface dust samples from the Makgadikgadi Pan in Botwsana. Using a landscape and trace evidence approach, De Bruin and Schmitz (2021) apply forensic techniques to experimental sites of rhino poaching in a quest to support Rhino conservation through the successful prosecution of poachers.

In its conclusion the editorial for the last special edition produced from a SAAG conference, Sumner et al. (2013) assert that academic geomorphology in southern Africa is diverse, alive and well. This has not changed. Traditional sub-fields continue to attract interest at conferences, perhaps with the exception of coastal studies, while soil erosion studies and their application are finding increasing relevance within the southern African setting. Advanced techniques that have global context, such as surface dating techniques and sediment fingerprinting, are becoming increasingly accessible. Furthermore, off-shore international projects (with SAAG members as lead investigators) have prospered. What is particularly encouraging is the continued application of studies with a broader relevance, and the ongoing involvement of young scientists in projects reported at SAAG events and in subsequent publications.

Acknowledgments

Discussions with the SAAG founding President and Fellow, Heinz Beckedahl provided significant insight into the history of SAAG. The guest editors are grateful for the support from the SAAG Council, the Council of the SSAG and in particular SAGJ editor Trevor Hill for his role in the compilation of this issue and the processing of papers through the review system. We are especially grateful to the authors who contributed and the reviewers who took time to assess contributions. Many thanks to the convenors of SAAG Conferences in the past and to the staff and students of the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Fort Hare for supporting the 2019 event. Lastly, thanks to SAAG members for their continued enthusiastic support of the Association and the biennial conference events.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors