Future directions for California grassland restoration

We are early in the development of “restoration” as defined by SER. There are several important areas to explore as we develop the practice and science of California grassland restoration. These include a need to define reference ecosystems, using all available sources (historical records, soil seed analysis, models). Remnant ecosystems are probably too few and small to provide reference systems for the hundreds (thousands?) of different grassland/soils associations in California. Restoration will have to find ways to work around the historic and ongoing persistence of non-native species, including viral diseases. Roles of fire and grazing management in restoration have yet to be determined for many California grasslands and each requires replicated trials with long-term monitoring. Attention must be given to the genetics of the plant materials used in restoration, as well as the role of soil microbial communities. Even with these challenges, grassland restoration in California has developed basic, effective methods and seed production and we present selected examples of these efforts. Better tracking of the hundreds of ongoing restoration projects in California is a necessary next step to see grassland restoration mature to a reflective practice and ecological science.