Justin Luong (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Working Lands and Restoration Ecology at UC Berkeley in the Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department, where he works with California ecosystems, particularly in conservation and ecological restoration of California rangelands 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 completed his Bachelor's at the University of California Santa Barbara, and worked as an undergraduate researcher in the D'Antonio lab. He earned his PhD at UC Santa Cruz working with Dr. Michael Loik and Dr. Karen Holl in the Environmental Studies Department and worked as a USDA postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis with Dr. Jennifer Funk. Prior, Dr. Luong worked as a restoration coordinator at The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. 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 (service listed below). Dr. Luong is deeply invested in mentorship and actively fosters the growth of aspiring ecologists and works to train undergraduate and graduate students. His favorite grasses are Festuca californica and Danthonia californica. You can view Dr. Luong's CV here.
If you are interested in hearing more about any of my research, or think that you may want to collaborate on a future or current project do not hesitate to contact me (justinluong@berkeley.edu). I am not accepting any new graduate students until Fall 2027.
Dr. Luong invites potential postdoctoral scholars to develop and submit USDA or NSF fellowships to collaborate on current research interests.
Boards & Committees
- Environmental Studies Grant Review Committee (2018–2020)
- USFWS Nipomo Lupine Endangered Species Recovery Team (2019–Present)
- Mark’s Ranch Technical Advisory Committee (2020–Present)
- UCSC Ken Norris Natural History Center Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (2020–2023)
- UCSC Environmental Studies BIPOC Resilience Graduate Committee (2020–2022)
- California Native Grassland Association — Research, Science & Education Committee Chair (2021–Present)
Affiliations
- USFWS Nipomo Lupine Endangered Species Recovery Team — Species Expert (2019–Present)
- California Native Plant Society (CNPS) — Member (2015–Present)
- The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration — Research Affiliate (2017–Present)
- California Botanical Society — Member (2017–Present)
- California Native Grassland Association — Member, Director-at-Large (2018–Present)
- Northern California Botanists — Member (2018–Present)
- Society for Ecological Restoration, California — Member (2018–Present)
- Sigma Xi — Member (2019–Present)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science — Member (2019–Present)
- Ecological Society of America — Member (2020–Present)
- Entomological Society of America — Member (2020–Present)
Professional Service
- Ecological Society of America — Ecological Restoration Section — Committee Member (2020–Present)
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Peer Review — Published Journals
(Publons: AAK-2150-2020)
- American Journal of Botany
- Conservation Physiology
- Ecology and Evolution
- Ecological Solutions and Evidence
- Journal of Plant and Soil Science
- Journal of Arid Environments
- Journal of Ecology
- Land Degradation and Development
- Madroño
- New Phytologist
- Plant Ecology
- Restoration Ecology
- Restoration Ecology — Coordinating Editor (2022–Present)
- Madroño — Coordinating Editor (2022–Present)