“Investigation of facultative Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic adaptation in Southern African species as a novel agricultural production system in drier climates”
Country of Study
Namibia
Institution
Namibia University of Science and Technology
Expected Year of Completion
2025
Thematic Area
Agriculture and Food Security
Education
Aune’s PhD thesis is in Agriculture and Natural Resources and Sciences. She is a part time project assistant at a Succulent Bio-Economy project with Namibia University of Science and Technology. She has an MSc in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Cape Town and is set to complete her studies in 2025.
Research Summary
Increases in atmospheric temperature have become a major global threat as it causes fluctuations in the amount of rainfall, resulting in drought and deterioration of grazing conditions for animals. Since most African communities depend entirely on farming for food and income, their livelihood is strained, affecting food security. There is therefore a need for a more sustainable agricultural production system that can ensure survival and better livelihoods in harsh conditions. Many species with water-use efficient (WUE) characteristics that make them drought-tolerant utilise the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) photosynthetic mechanism. These species are adapted to semi-arid conditions and are expected to have a competitive benefit in the future over other plants. Aune’s research proposes that the unique WUE mechanism of these plants offers them significant potential for use in agricultural drylands. In addition, these plants have been relatively poorly researched or explored in an agronomic context, or even significantly enhanced from their wild stock, since they are not part of mainstream agriculture despite their great potential. There is especially a lack of information on Southern African species that utilise facultative CAM which this research addresses to add value to the field of Climate Change Adaptation through enhanced Agriculture and Natural Resources management.
