California grasslands and meadows are among the most endangered ecosystems in the United States and are important subjects of ecological research and experimentation. This session focuses on grassland research and management including biotic enhancement, invasive species, livestock grazing, and ecological restoration within our unique California grassland/prairie ecosystems.
SESSION CHAIRS Julia Michaels1, Dr. Justin Luong2,3
1Hedgerow Farms, Winters, CA, United States. 2University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States. 3California Native Grassland Association, Davis, CA, United States
Julia Michaels
Hedgerow Farms
Julia Michaels completed her PhD in Ecology at UC Davis where she focused her research on strategies for restoring native California vernal pool wetlands. She is currently the Restoration Ecologist at Hedgerow Farms, and President of the California Native Grasslands Association.
Dr. Justin Luong
University of California at Berkeley
Justin Luong is an assistant professor of working lands and restoration ecology at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, and the chair of the research, science and education committee at the board of the California Native Grassland Association. His research focuses on adapting context-based restoration management for climate change and species invasion combining interdisciplinary methods with field plant ecology, physiological greenhouse studies and management interviews and surveys. Luong also works to assess and optimize best practices for incorporating ecological restoration into working lands that may include livestock grazing or clean energy production. Luong, in collaboration with Point Blue Conservation Science, Dr. Robert Griffin-Nolan, Dr. Kerry Byrne, Dr. Yamina Pressler & Dr. Erika Foster, is supporting and developing the California Grassland Restoration, Action, Science and Stewardship Network (GRASS Net) to database grassland restoration, germination protocols and connect practitioners for future collaboration.
7.1 Fine Scale Grassland Mapping and Sampling in Select East Bay Regional Parks in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
Erin McDermott1, Shelly Benson2, Brittany Burnett3, Dina Robertson4, Michele Hammond4
1Nomad Ecology LLC, Martinez, CA, United States. 2Benson Bio Consulting, Sebastopol, CA, United States. 3Tukman Geospatial, Berkeley, CA, United States. 4East Bay Regional Park District, Oakland, CA, United States
Erin McDermott is a Principal Vegetation and Restoration Ecologist and partner at Nomad Ecology, a biological consulting firm located in Martinez, CA. Her expertise includes vegetation ecology including sampling and mapping, invasive weed management, restoration, and wetland ecology. She loves spending time in grasslands!
7.2 Growth-Reproduction Strategies of Native and Non-Native California Grassland Plants from along a Precipitation Gradient
Brooke E. Wainwright
University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
Description California grasslands are largely overrun with non-native species, which are thought to have traits, such as rapid growth and/or high seed output, conferring invasion success. These investments in growth and reproduction must trade-off – the values of which help reveal a plant’s strategy for survival. My objective is to determine how native and non-native California grassland species along a precipitation gradient variably invest in growth and reproduction under common conditions. I collected seeds of the 12 most dominant species in five cis-montane grasslands from Mendocino to Kern County (1778 – 230 mm mean annual rainfall). I planted the seeds in a common garden field experiment in Davis, California in fall 2022. I collected flowers of focal individuals throughout the growing season, as well as additional growth traits, and harvested the aboveground biomass upon senescence. Unsurprisingly I found that species identity was a significant factor in determining the allometric scaling relationship between vegetative and reproductive investment. When comparing native and non-native species, native species invest more in reproduction per gram investment in vegetation, but non-native species have consistently higher reproductive biomass when compared to a native species of the same vegetative mass. Next steps include examining the interaction between native status and home-site precipitation in effecting reproductive scaling and testing how a suite of growth and reproductive traits correlate to reproductive investment. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of growth-reproduction strategies among California grassland plants, which may ultimately improve restoration and management outcomes.
Presenter Bios
Brooke E. Wainwright
University of California, Davis
Brooke Wainwright is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. She is advised by Dr. Jennifer Funk and is passionate about using research and community development to better understand and and restore California plant communities. She is currently writing her dissertation and hopes to one day be a professor in California that teaches about and researches California's rich flora.
7.3 Landscape-Scale Soil Heterogeneity Influences Phenotypic Performance of a Vernal Pool Endemic, Limnanthes douglasii ssp. rosea
Dr. Daniel J. Toews
The Nature Conservancy, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description California’s vernal pool grasslands represent some of the most threatened ecosystems in the state, yet they harbor exceptional plant diversity and endemism. Understanding how plant fitness responds to soil heterogeneity within these systems is critical for effective conservation and restoration. To investigate this, I conducted a common garden experiment using meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii ssp. rosea), an endemic annual vernal pool plant. Plants from nine vernal pools, spanning Corning, Keyes, and Redding soil series were reciprocally transplanted into these soils under controlled greenhouse conditions. We found strong soil effects on plant fitness traits such as reproductive output and biomass. Across all populations, performance was highest in Keyes soils, a rare soil type, while Redding soils—the most widespread vernal pool soil series—produced plants with the lowest fitness. Interestingly, plants sourced from Keyes soils consistently outperformed others across all soil treatments, suggesting local adaptation coupled with broad tolerance. In contrast, populations from Corning and Redding soils often did not perform best in their home soils, though Corning genotypes were consistently among the top performers. These results highlight that variation in soil environments strongly structures fitness outcomes in a common grassland vernal pool species. Some genotypes are narrowly adapted to their native soils, while others show greater plasticity. For restoration and management of California’s grassland and vernal pool ecosystems, maintaining soil heterogeneity and conserving rare soil types may be key to sustaining genetic diversity and resilience of endemic species.
Presenter Bios
Dr. Daniel J. Toews
The Nature Conservancy
Dr. Daniel Toews is the Strategic Restoration Project Manager for The Nature Conservancy in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Daniel earned his Ph.D. in vernal pool plant evolutionary ecology from UC Merced, where his research focused on the unique and threatened vernal pool ecosystems of California’s valley and foothill grasslands. He has worked as a consulting biologist and now leads efforts to conserve rare species and restore critical habitats across the San Joaquin Valley. In his current role, Daniel combines scientific expertise with strategic planning to implement large-scale restoration projects that support both ecological resilience and community well-being.
7.4 Managing Prescribed Fire in California Coastal Prairies for Native Vegetation Recovery and Soil Carbon
Georgia L. Vasey, Dr. Karen D. Holl
University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
Description Prescribed fire is used to manage California’s coastal prairies, yet native diversity and soil organic carbon (SOC) outcomes in invaded grasslands remain uncertain. We evaluated vegetation cover, richness, SOC, and root biomass responses at nine prescribed burns in Central California. We measured vegetation cover and richness pre- and post-burn in paired burned/control transects at six sites. SOC (0–5 cm) was sampled immediately pre/post along burned transects, and spring root biomass was measured post-burn. Fire metrics (residual dry matter, litter, percent black/unburned/new green) were combined into a composite burn index. Statistical models included burn severity and recent and 5-yr rainfall. The only plant guild that responded significantly to burning was non-native annual forbs, which increased more in burned than control plots. Native richness declined in both treatments, but more so in burned transects. In burned transects, SOC increased at sites with more days since the last rainfall event. Root biomass in the first growing season tended to be higher in burns than controls, but varied strongly among sites. Prescribed fire is not a “magic wand” for biodiversity recovery. Effects were modest and contingent on soil moisture and burn severity. Pairing burns with strategic grazing, timing to favorable moisture, and post-fire seeding may help promote native species recovery.
Presenter Bios
Georgia L. Vasey
University of California Santa Cruz
Georgia is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Environmental Studies program at UC Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on restoring California coastal prairies with prescribed fire, with an emphasis on native plant diversity and soil health. She holds an MS in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and spent 5+ years leading restoration volunteer programs with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. She’s especially fond of native annual flowers, such as Clarkia and Calochortus species.
7.5 Tule Elk Effects on Coastal California Grassland Microclimate and Plant Community Dynamics
Raphaela E. Floreani Buzbee1, Dr. David Ackerly1, Dr. Hall Cushman2
1University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States. 2University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV, United States
Description California coastal grasslands are the most species-rich grassland community in North America. They are composed of annual and perennial grasses, forbs, geophytes and ferns and include rare and endangered endemic plants as well as rare insects, animals and other organisms. Most coastal grasslands are grazed by livestock and/or large native herbivores which alter vegetation and soil properties through grazing, trampling, dung deposition, compaction and bioturbation. However, the effects of large herbivores on habitat microclimates are not well known. Our research seeks to understand whether microclimates are affected by the presence of large herbivores and if those effects are reflected in the species composition of the local plant community.
To investigate individual and interactive effects of large herbivores and microclimate in a coastal grassland, we used a long term tule elk exclusion experiment in Point Reyes National Seashore. Using 24 paired plots across the study area, we quantified elk effects on soil microclimate (temperature and moisture) and plant community composition 25 years after the establishment of the elk exclosures.
We found that plots with elk were warmer, wetter and more species rich when compared to plots where elk were excluded, but the higher species diversity in elk plots was driven by increased frequency and abundance of nonnative species. We did not find significant differences in community climate niches between the grazed and ungrazed plots suggesting that the presence of elk does alter local microclimates but resulting shifts in the plant community are subtle.
Presenter Bios
Raphaela E. Floreani Buzbee
University of California, Berkeley
Raphaela is a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Prior to her PhD research, Raphaela worked as a botanist and vegetation ecologist across California.
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The mission of the California Native Plant Society is to protect California’s native plants and their natural habitats, today and into the future, through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy.
DateThursday, February 5
