Understanding how trees grow and adapt to their surroundings is key to advancing sustainable forestry. During the 2025 Hans Merensky EucXylo Research Meeting, Oluwaseun Gakenou shared insights from his work using Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) to study the structural variation among young Eucalyptus grandis trees grown in a common garden experiment. His presentation, titled “Lasers […]
EucXylo Research Chair, Department of Forest and Wood Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Forestry Building, Bosman Street, 7600,
Stellenbosch, South Africa
+72 21 808 3301
leandra1@sun.ac.za
At EucXylo we are harnessing the power of on-site sensors and remote sensing systems to monitor and measure tree growth at the stand and tree level (see the IMPACT tab for more information). We make use of a wide range of environmental and growth sensors which are connected to the Internet of Things. We monitor soil and air conditions, tree growth and development and various ecophysiological variables. We make use of terrestrial laser scanning, as well as airborne LiDAR and various types of imagery to gain large-scale perspectives of developing trees. All these techniques renders big data sets, and there is always scope at EucXylo to find innovative ways to interact with such data.
Insights from our research are the basis by which we continually build and improve predictive models at multiple scales. Where our models are weak, or we do not understand how to express or characterise a process in the models, we will perform experiments to answer our question.
We are implementing these models in open-access languages/environments like Python, and harness the power of innovations like GEMS developed through our and the AgroInformatics partnership to bring everything together.
Not everything we are doing, or want to do, is currently possible. At EucXylo we are constantly developing approaches and exploring new frontiers to measure and model things. For example, we have developed new approaches using CT Scanning to visualise the cambium, and we have explored new image analysis techniques to extract information from images. In addition, we are currently exploring using confocal Raman microscopy to quantify lignin and cellulose in the cell walls of eucalypts.
There is fascinating research being done to understand the molecular basis of wood formation. Better understanding of things like what “gene switches” operate to determine cell fate are very interesting at EucXylo. But beyond that: what mechanisms and processes come into play? Another interesting area of work is to understand the interplay between transcriptomics, proteomics and ultimately metabolomics, and how gene expression ultimately plays out in situ. We are focussing on these questions from different points of view, including consideration the effects of drought
Plenty of research has been undertaken in recent decades into the seasonal dynamics of xylogenesis in various important Northen hemisphere tree species. Analysis of timing of the onset of growth, and the durations of developmental stages, for example, provide valuable insights into how and why wood properties vary as they do over a season. But this kind of research in eucalypts is woefully lacking. At EucXylo, high-precision monitoring equipment in concert with detailed wood and cambial sampling techniques are used to obtain new and expanding datasets to understand how the differentiating xylem develops over time.
All of the xylogenesis responses which can be observed and quantified need to be seen and understood in the context of the whole plant. Several of our research projects are geared to better understand (and ultimately model) a wide range of ecophysiological processes and phenomena and how these feed back to wood property variation in eucalypts.
At EucXylo we are harnessing the power of on-site sensors and remote sensing systems to monitor and measure tree growth at the stand and tree level (see the IMPACT tab for more information). We make use of a wide range of environmental and growth sensors which are connected to the Internet of Things. We monitor soil and air conditions, tree growth and development and various ecophysiological variables. We make use of terrestrial laser scanning, as well as airborne LiDAR and various types of imagery to gain large-scale perspectives of developing trees. All these techniques renders big data sets, and there is always scope at EucXylo to find innovative ways to interact with such data.
Dr. Hans Merensky was born on 16 March 1871, near Middelburg. He was a remarkable man in South Africa’s history, considered not only a “scientist of note, but also an extremely farsighted and thoughtful strategist, agricultural trendsetter, humanitarian and philanthropist”. His first passion was minerals, and was awarded a doctorate in geology from the University of Charlottenburg, Germany.
After retiring in 1932, he turned his skills to sustainable agriculture on his farm, Westfalia. He created a sustainable mixed-farming business incorporating both the establishment of Eucalyptus plantations and sustainable long-term agriculture based on ecologically-sound management of biological ecosystems. This included the conservation and management of water-catchment areas, soil conservation and organic principles of composting. He was internationally recognized as being one of the most progressive thinkers in the field of sustainable farming in his time.
His passion for sustainable forestry and conservation left a legacy for generations to appreciate.
He had a strong interest in supporting the generation of knowledge for the greater good, including in the field of Forest Science. In 1932, he was a major contributor to the establishment of the Department of Forestry, at Stellenbosch University (SU). This greatly boosted the large-scale forestry industry in South Africa.
In 1949, the Hans Merensky Trust was established. This was to ensure the strides he made in water and soil conservation within the agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors be continued after his death on Westfalia. After his passing on 21 October 1952, as his legacy, a large part of his fortune was allotted to the Hans Merensky Trust. In 1973, the Hans Merensky Foundation (HMF) was established, replacing the Hans Merensky Trust. Recently, the foundation has been renamed to the Hans Merensky Legacy foundation in honour of Dr Merensky’s legacy.
The HMLF provides bursaries and grants to institutions for research in both the forestry and agricultural sectors. Sustainable forestry and high-quality science are important parts of the Merensky legacy. As part of their response to continuing this legacy, therefore, the HMLF decided to fund a new research program in 2019: the Hans Merensky Chair in Advanced Modelling of Eucalypt Wood Formation (or HM EucXylo) at SU.