Grasslands may appear to be simple stretches of grass. But in reality, they are the foundation of California’s diversity of plants and are critical to environmental health. These landscapes once covered 25 percent of California, yet only 10 percent remain. Despite their decline, grasslands host nearly 90 percent of California’s endangered plant species, heightening the importance of protecting native grasslands. Through a 2023 interdisciplinary study examining coastal grasslands in California, University of California, Berkeley professor Justin Luong and his research team began the creation of GRASS-Net, a network aimed at collaboration among grassland restoration practitioners.
A key obstacle that Luong’s work addresses in restoration is that many projects are limited in using diverse species for planting, limiting restoration’s utility for recovering biodiversity. By surveying 37 restored grassland projects, Luong found that 95 percent of projects reached their intended goal. Although this high success rate is perceived as a strong success, a chain of data and logic suggests a strong fear of failure. Practitioners often choose species that are the least challenging to grow. While this strategy ensures projects can succeed, it creates a problem known as biotic homogenization. The phenomenon occurs when ecosystems across a region or landscape become more similar over time because the same species are repeatedly growing. When the ecosystem diversity declines, it becomes problematic.
California is uniquely vulnerable to biotic homogenization because it serves as one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. Many restoration projects rely on few perennial grass species, avoiding species that are less studied, but are necessary to maintain biodiversity. Professor Luong’s research suggests expanding restoration efforts to include underused plants which will restore the natural diversity within grasslands.
Another focus of Luong’s study is on climate resilience. California’s Mediterranean climate is in periodic drought, and the growing effects of climate change intensify the unpredictability of natural events. Drought is responsible for killing many keystone plant species, altering the ecosystems and often weakening important functions. To better observe grassland responses to frequent challenges, Luong’s team studied plant functional traits. These characteristics include root depth, growth form, and drought survivability. These approaches allow restoration planners to use strategies hinging on data rather than trial and error.
The project emphasizes cooperation through shared knowledge. The Luong Lab founded GRASS-Net in 2023. The network is dedicated to connecting land managers, scientists, practitioners, and any community members. Furthermore, GRASS-Net is currently developing a digital restoration toolbox that uses plant traits, drought experiment results, and overall field data to supplement decisions for grassland restoration practitioners. GRASS-Net’s inventions and discoveries could help solve an innate lack of biodiversity.
Grasslands may seem ordinary, but the science behind restoring them has extraordinary potential. Through research, and growing initiatives like GRASS-Net, a growing community, including readers of this column, are proactively building a future where California’s grasslands are contributing to our daily lives for generations to come.