Assistant Professor of Working Lands and Restoration
Assistant Professor of Working Lands and Restoration
Justin Luong is an Assistant Professor of Working Lands for People and Environment and Restoration Ecology in the Environmental Science and Policy Management Department at UC Berkeley, where he works with rangeland ecosystems, particularly in conservation and ecological restoration of California habitats, focused but not limited to grasslands with direct land manager engagement. His research interests center around climate-ready and invasion resistant restoration practices and incorporating management perspectives to understand restoration outcomes. Dr. Luong is particularly dedicated to promoting multi-use landscapes that balance range productivity and conserve native plant biodiversity. Dr. Luong actively currently contributes to the broader conservation community through various leadership positions in various professional societies and advisory committees and serves as a board member and the Science and Education Committee Chair of the California Native Grassland Association.
Assistant Professor of Rangeland Resource Sciences, Cal Poly Humboldt (2023-2025)
USDA AFRI Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California Davis
Ph.D., Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Cruz
M.A., Environmental Studies, University Of California Santa Cruz
B.S., Environmental Studies, minor in Spatial Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara
restoration ecology, rangeland ecology, community ecology, plant ecosphysiology, science-practice gap, California grasslands, invasion ecology, multi-use
Google Scholar
- Byrne KM, Luong JC, Kaczynski KM. 2025. Divergent drought response in two cold desert shrublands. 2025. Ecosphere 16(3):e70211. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70211
- Nguyen PV, Luong JC, Wishingrad V, Stratton LC, Loik ME, Meyer RS. 2024. Soil Biome Variation of Lupinus nipomensis Eastw. in Wet-Cool vs. Dry-Warm Microhabitats and Greenhouse Conditions. American Journal of Botany e70020. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.70020
- Zhu K, Song Y, Lesage JC, Luong JC, Bartolome J, Chiariello N, Dudney J, Field C, Hallett L, Hammond M, Harrison S, Hayes G, Hobbs R, Holl KD, Hopkinson P, Larios L, Loik ME, Prugh L. 2024. Rapid shifts in grassland communities driven by climate change. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02552-z
- Muramoto J, Flores R, Jones A, Luong J. 2024. Utilizing Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Tend Geophytes on the Central Coast of California. In J. Habu (Eds.) Agroecology, Sustainable Food Production and Landscape Conservation: International Collaborations between Japan and the Americas (98-105).
- Nolan MP, Luong JC, Valliere JM, Mazer SJ, D’Antonio CM. 2023. Rethinking local seed sourcing for the restoration of a foundational grass species in California. Restoration Ecology 31(8): e13992. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13992
- Luong JC, Press DM, Holl KD. 2023. Lessons learned from an interdisciplinary evaluation of long-term restoration outcomes on 37 restored coastal grasslands in California. Biological Conservation 280:109956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109956
- Luong JC, Villanueva EM, Bauman TA. 2023. Native and invasive bunchgrasses have different responses to trail disturbance on California coastal prairies. Plant Ecology 224: 125-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-022-01284-z
- Toone TA, Ahler SJ, Larson JE, Luong JC, Martinez-Baena F, Ordóñez-Parra CA, Silva MC, van der Ouderaa IBC. 2022. Inclusive restoration: Ten recommendations to support LGBTQ+ researchers in restoration science. Restoration Ecology 31(3): e13743. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13743
- Holl KD, Luong JC, Brancalion PHS. 2022. Overcoming biotic homogenization in ecological restoration. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 37(9): 777-788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.05.002
- Luong JC, Loik ME. 2022. Adjustments in physiological and morphological traits suggest drought-induced competitive release of some California plants. Ecology and Evolution 12(4): e8773. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8773
- Luong JC. 2022. Non-periodic grassland restoration management can promote native woody shrub encroachment. Restoration Ecology 30(8): e13650. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13650
- Luong JC, Holl KD, Loik ME. 2021. Leaf traits and phylogeny explain plant survival and community dynamics in response to extreme drought in a restored coastal grassland. Journal of Applied Ecology 58(8): 1670-1680. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13909
- Luong JC, Turner PL, Phillipson CN, Seltmann KC. 2019. Local grassland restoration affects insect communities. Ecological Entomology 44(4): 471-479. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12721
Contact details
Justin Luong
UC Berkeley
130 Mulford Hall #3114
Berkeley, CA 94720