GRASS-Net: Rebuilding the Future of California Grasslands

Project 1 - Yamina Pressler giving a field demonstration on characterizing soils for grassland restoration at a GRASS-Net field day.

Usually, when people imagine California’s famous landscapes, they picture beautiful coastlines and towering redwoods, but very rarely is our first image that of grasslands. Yet in reality, these open expanses are a foundation of California’s environmental health, historically covering a quarter of the state. 

Today, only 10 percent of native grasslands remain, despite the fact that they host 90 percent of California’s endangered plant species. As drought, industrialization, and global temperatures intensify, these critical zones of biodiversity find themselves at a major risk. This pressing ecological issue is made significantly worse because modern grassland restoration suffers from a severe overreliance on just seven key perennial species throughout California. 

One organization focusing on grassland restoration seeks to address this ecological issue. Founded in 2022, the California Grassland Restoration, Action, Science, and Stewardship Network (GRASS-Net) serves as a resource connecting practitioners, state agencies, scientists, tribes, and community members across California to exchange techniques and troubleshoot mistakes. GRASS-Net stands for the Grassland Restoration, Action, Science, and Stewardship Network, and it is currently developing a digital restoration toolbox. By combining field data, plant trait analytics, and drought experiment results, this platform gives practitioners the scientific backing to confidently introduce underused, diverse species back into the soil and secure a healthier future.

Because invasive species are adapting to changing ecosystems at a rapid pace, restoration methods must adapt just as quickly to counter the threat. When restoration projects avoid using a wider variety of plants, it leads to fewer breakthroughs in plant-based research and causes lasting damage to the state's natural heritage. 

If we continue to treat these landscapes as simple stretches of grass, we risk losing the integrity of California's most fragile environments. We need to rethink our approach. 

In 2023, a breakthrough interdisciplinary study led by Professor Justin Luong, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley and founder of GRASS-Net (formerly with Cal Poly Humboldt), discovered a shocking concept in ecological restoration. Professor Luong’s Lab, named the Luong Lab, surveyed 37 restored grassland projects and studied the practices of a wide range of practitioners throughout California to assess the effectiveness of past projects. 

On paper, the data looked incredibly promising because they found that 95 percent of practitioners successfully reached their intended management goals. However, looking beneath the surface reveals that this high success rate actually stemmed from a deeply ingrained fear of failing. Because funding, time, and resources are tightly limited, project managers naturally chose the safest, most predictable options available to them. 

“Practitioners know that if they use these species, they are likely to grow, and they are going to help reach their targets and management goals. And when practitioners are resource-limited, they tend to use what they can afford,” Luong said. 

The dangerous consequence of this is a phenomenon known as biotic homogenization. This occurs when distinct ecosystems across a region or landscape start to become identical over time because the exact same handful of species are being repeatedly planted everywhere. 

California is uniquely vulnerable to this blending effect because the state serves as one of the most vital biodiversity hotspots in the world, meaning that stripping away natural variation erases the exact resilience that keeps these ecosystems stable.

Project 2 - Ernesto Chavez-Velasco collecting field data with students on California native grassland plant communities.

GRASS-Net is currently focused on three projects: (1) the formation of the network, (2) a field study that analyzes three different California areas, and (3) a greenhouse experiment. Luong Lab manager Tonia Brito-Bersi (they/them) highlighted each project and their involvement in each one. 

“We’re trying to connect restoration practitioners with researchers and also with each other,” Brito-Bersi said. “Another major reason we started Project 1 is because grassland practitioners are often limited in the amount of time and resources they have for their projects. We’re hoping that by connecting these networks we can amplify their efforts and assist these people feel less alone in the work they’re doing.” 

Project 1 focuses on collecting data on the perspectives of various practitioners. These practitioners and researchers use this data to connect the community while creating services that help them advance their careers and the grassland community as a whole. 

“We followed up with 40 people, and we interviewed them,” Brito-Bersi said. “We asked them about seed sharing and how they would like to participate in a network.” 

The organization is analyzing these interviews to develop tools for the community, such as a seed encyclopedia and a map of various projects across California. 

Project 2 studies three different grassland areas in California: Sonoma, Humboldt, and Cambria. According to Brito-Bersi, this phase required significant groundwork, using root and biomass samples to compare different communities. By better understanding the wide range of plants and leaves, GRASS-Net is better able to accommodate each community's needs. 

Project 3 is a greenhouse project called the Lethal Drought 50 (LD 50). The project examines how much water deprivation it takes for 50% of a plant population to die. 

“We grew and killed the plants, we measured the soil moisture, and we studied 10 species. We also had a collaborator in Chico who studied the 10 species as well,” Brito-Bersi said. 

The LD 50 allows researchers to understand the capacity of different species to survive under drought conditions. Beyond these projects described above, GRASS-Net strives to make a long-lasting impact that matters to the next generation.  

“Grasslands are more than just grasses and the dry brown stuff you see in the summer,"  Luong said. "Grasslands are super important for carbon storage. We often think of them as upside-down forests. Below, grasslands are massive, expansive underground root systems which are really important for wildlife, soil carbon, clean water, and other ecosystem processes.” 

Project 3 - Narrow leaf milkweed growing in a greenhouse for lethal drought studies.

Because this ecological handoff relies heavily on the future, Luong believes young people have a massive opportunity to step up and change the narrative by learning about local flora and actively reshaping public spaces. 

For example, Luong suggested young people volunteer with local restoration efforts and advocate for grasslands online and through other methods. He explained that the next generation of students and nature lovers can make change in simple ways, such as “learning about their environment and teaching others, getting involved with local agencies to be an advocate in public spaces for our grasses.”