HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE SAN BRUNO PLOT!
San Bruno Mountain Test Plot
By Jen Toy
Test Plot Lead
DATE: May 25 2024
TIME: 10am-1pm
TEMP: 52 degrees
︎ WEATHER: Foggy and drizzling but ended with some blue skies
SOIL MOISTURE: Damp at surface, noticeably drier an inch or two below surface (last time it rained was May 4th all day).
︎ PLANTS SIGHTINGS: Hard to believe our little plot has only been in the ground for about a year. Read below for our evaluation of the first year!
WEED SIGHTINGS: Most weeds were removed 2 weeks ago at the mother’s day weeding. However there is an abundance of new species. The old culprits oxalis, common fumitory, cutleaf geranium, wild oats and bull thistle were present but much less. The weeds that have taken their place are bur chevril, rattlesnake (quaking) grass, sheep sorrel, hyssop loosestrife.
WILDFLIFE SIGHTINGS: Ari said there was a red breasted bird that was around, but I wasn’t paying attention. Also came across a banana slug, 2 snails and a mouse in the grassland plot.
︎ HUMAN ACTIVITY: Ernest, Victoria, Linda, Ari, Aspen, Jen, Maurius, Andrea came out to volunteer. Some folks out walking on the path, but less due to weather.
︎ Please enjoy the progress pics taken over the year:
San Bruno Mountain Test Plot
By Jen Toy
Test Plot Lead
DATE: May 25 2024
TIME: 10am-1pm
TEMP: 52 degrees
︎ WEATHER: Foggy and drizzling but ended with some blue skies
SOIL MOISTURE: Damp at surface, noticeably drier an inch or two below surface (last time it rained was May 4th all day).
︎ PLANTS SIGHTINGS: Hard to believe our little plot has only been in the ground for about a year. Read below for our evaluation of the first year!
WEED SIGHTINGS: Most weeds were removed 2 weeks ago at the mother’s day weeding. However there is an abundance of new species. The old culprits oxalis, common fumitory, cutleaf geranium, wild oats and bull thistle were present but much less. The weeds that have taken their place are bur chevril, rattlesnake (quaking) grass, sheep sorrel, hyssop loosestrife.
WILDFLIFE SIGHTINGS: Ari said there was a red breasted bird that was around, but I wasn’t paying attention. Also came across a banana slug, 2 snails and a mouse in the grassland plot.
︎ HUMAN ACTIVITY: Ernest, Victoria, Linda, Ari, Aspen, Jen, Maurius, Andrea came out to volunteer. Some folks out walking on the path, but less due to weather.
︎ Please enjoy the progress pics taken over the year:
STEWARDSHIP: Over the last year or so we hosted 11 events including 2 planting days (check out this video), 3 monitoring days, and 2 educational workshops. We engaged 154 volunteers and stewards bringing in local neighbors from Daly City, Colma and South SF as well as the broader Bay Area. One of our key goals has been to welcome and cultivate a stewardship group that reflects the diverse immigrant communities that live around the base of the mountain. These communities have been historically disconnected from the mountain and face high pollution burden. We have worked towards this effort through outreach efforts at KAPWA Gardens at SOMA Philipinas, Lincoln Park Community Center, the Sierra Club and the Summit Shasta Environmental Club. We also developed the Ulap Kollective website, and welcomed our first Test Plot fellow, Victoria Bevington (read about her work here).
BACKGROUND ON THE EUCALYPTUS FOREST: Daily fog rolls in from the rugged coastline, up sandy dunes, and settles among the towering eucalyptus of San Bruno Mountain. Despite their cultural and aesthetic value to the Bay Area landscape, eucalyptus are often saddled with negative associations. The trees are categorized as invasive and pose serious fire risks. The clustering of eucalyptus absorbs nutrients and water as they soar to 300 feet on previously low scrub habitat. Moreover, their oils are associated with allelopathic qualities that inhibit the growth of other plants, and the buildup of leaf litter on the forest floor smothers sensitive vegetation. It would be cost prohibitive to remove all the stands of eucalyptus and many folks love their smell and strongly identify these trees with the Bay Area. For both economic and cultural reasons, these forests will remain a part of this landscape. And because of their perceived limited ecological value and allelopathy, planting in their understory is often not prioritized.
HYBRID APPROACH TO RESTORATION: Our restoration approach, thus, started with the understory. Since the early 2000s local Bay Area precedents like Mt. Sutro and the Presidio have started experimenting with building ecological diversity and habitat amidst the eucalyptus to some success. Inspired by their work, we decided to take on this hybridized approach to habitat restoration - one that weaves ecological function within a “non -native” landscape. The mid/understory zone became our target as it is the zone that provides shelter and habitat for song birds, raptors and many other species. We started with four habitat types that are found on San Bruno Mountain with the question, which plant communites are able to survive/thrive in the conditions of the understory?
![Foggy morning, mother's day 2024]()
PLANTING: Situated along a popular, accesible walking path that starts at the Crocker Gate Trailhead in Daly City, our plot is a half-moon separated into wedges, each planted with a different habitat type found on the mountain: scrub mix, oak woodland, prairie and grassland, and seep/freshwater marsh. When we sampled the existing conditions of the site in February 2023, we found 15 species in total - 13 invasives (mainly Bermuda buttercup, Himalayan blackberry, and European wild oats), and 2 native species (Pacific Blackberry and Miner’s lettuce). In March of 2023 and January 2024 we hosted 2 planting days, installing species grown at Mission Blue Nursery as well cuttings from nearby. As of May 2024, we observed 69 species including 11 invasives and 58 species of native plants - 52 of the 58 species were planted and 6 new species have entered the plot on their own (self-sown by wind, birds, already in the seed bank etc).
FINDINGS: So far, we’ve found an overall species survival rate of 74% across all four habitat types. The best performing habitat type is oak woodland at 88% and the lowest is seep/freshwater marsh at 56%. The original planting list can be found on our website, here. For the details and some pics, keep reading:
BY HABITAT TYPE:
SCRUB MX (77% species survival rate):
There are currently 15 species, including 3 that were self-sown. Dominant species include beach strawberry, CA fuschia, and miner's lettuce. I estimate that 60% of the plot is composed of these 3 species, as it is hard to differentiate individual plants. One coyote brush observed, with extra large leaves. Horkelia and Blue Witch are holding on but they are tiny. Self-sown red eldberry is taking off. We seem to have lost lupines (perhaps because they went in as tiny plugs) and seaside daisy.
PRAIRIE GRASSLAND (60% species survival rate):
There are 12 species, including 3 that were self-sown. CA phacelia, hummingbird sage, and woodland strawberry are clear winners. The Phacelia alone is covering at least 25% of the grassland surface area. One CA fescue is thriving. No Ruby Chalice Clarkia observed but perhaps we missed the window. Need to keep a lookout next spring. These species were not observed: CA Sheepburr, CA dandelion, SF wallflower.
OAK WOODLAND (88% species survival rate):
There are 19 species, including 2 that were self-sown. Snowberry species (Symphocarpus) hard to ID difference between common and creeping. Vigorous patches of pearly everlasting, one plant flowering but others were not. Winners seem to be: Symphoricarpos sp., Pink honeysuckle, lone buckeye is doing well, pearly everlasting and mugwort are spreading, woodland strawberry, sticky cinquefoil, heucheras. These species were not observed: Blue Blossom Ceanothus or Coast Live Oak.
SEEP/FRESHWATER MARSH (53% species survival rate):
There are 16 species, including 1 that was self-sown. Overall species survival rate is lower than other habitat zones at 53%. The clear winner is Bee plant - it is thriving, large and spreading. There were many species not observed that were supposed to have been planted in January such as CA oatgrass, seep monkeyflower, sneezeweed, evening primrose, CA buttercup, yellow eyed grass, fringecups.
![Scophularia californica (Bee plant) in foreground standing tall]()
![]()
![Pearly everlasting]()
![Potentilla anserina]()
![profusive miner's lettuce, with hummingbird sage]()
![Soaproot hanging on]()
MAINTENANCE: We originally intended to trial two different maintenance strategies, where we left half the plot untouched, seeing what could survive despite the continued build up of leaf litter and debris that would surely accumulate. However, we quickly decided to remove the debris every few months because it seemed clear that the plants would be smothered. If we can expand in the future, I’d like to carve out a section where we plant the strongest species and don’t remove the litter.
FUTURE THOUGHTS: So far, we have maintained more species diversity that I originally hoped for. With the removal of annual weeds, many spreading species are thriving, most notably bee plant, CA phacelia, strawberries, mugwort, CA fuschia, miner’s lettuce and hummingbird sage. Larger shrub species have taken off and may continue to thrive if given enough space like red elderberry, Pacific ninebark, honeysuckles, cow parsnip, and even buckeye. As we move into the 2nd and 3rd years, we might start prioritizing biomass over species diversity - the idea being that if we can cultivate a handful of species that can take up space and hold their own against the constant raining down of debris, then we can begin to jumpstart the under and mid story habitat that’s often missing but so important for birds and other wildlife.
BACKGROUND ON THE EUCALYPTUS FOREST: Daily fog rolls in from the rugged coastline, up sandy dunes, and settles among the towering eucalyptus of San Bruno Mountain. Despite their cultural and aesthetic value to the Bay Area landscape, eucalyptus are often saddled with negative associations. The trees are categorized as invasive and pose serious fire risks. The clustering of eucalyptus absorbs nutrients and water as they soar to 300 feet on previously low scrub habitat. Moreover, their oils are associated with allelopathic qualities that inhibit the growth of other plants, and the buildup of leaf litter on the forest floor smothers sensitive vegetation. It would be cost prohibitive to remove all the stands of eucalyptus and many folks love their smell and strongly identify these trees with the Bay Area. For both economic and cultural reasons, these forests will remain a part of this landscape. And because of their perceived limited ecological value and allelopathy, planting in their understory is often not prioritized.
HYBRID APPROACH TO RESTORATION: Our restoration approach, thus, started with the understory. Since the early 2000s local Bay Area precedents like Mt. Sutro and the Presidio have started experimenting with building ecological diversity and habitat amidst the eucalyptus to some success. Inspired by their work, we decided to take on this hybridized approach to habitat restoration - one that weaves ecological function within a “non -native” landscape. The mid/understory zone became our target as it is the zone that provides shelter and habitat for song birds, raptors and many other species. We started with four habitat types that are found on San Bruno Mountain with the question, which plant communites are able to survive/thrive in the conditions of the understory?
PLANTING: Situated along a popular, accesible walking path that starts at the Crocker Gate Trailhead in Daly City, our plot is a half-moon separated into wedges, each planted with a different habitat type found on the mountain: scrub mix, oak woodland, prairie and grassland, and seep/freshwater marsh. When we sampled the existing conditions of the site in February 2023, we found 15 species in total - 13 invasives (mainly Bermuda buttercup, Himalayan blackberry, and European wild oats), and 2 native species (Pacific Blackberry and Miner’s lettuce). In March of 2023 and January 2024 we hosted 2 planting days, installing species grown at Mission Blue Nursery as well cuttings from nearby. As of May 2024, we observed 69 species including 11 invasives and 58 species of native plants - 52 of the 58 species were planted and 6 new species have entered the plot on their own (self-sown by wind, birds, already in the seed bank etc).
FINDINGS: So far, we’ve found an overall species survival rate of 74% across all four habitat types. The best performing habitat type is oak woodland at 88% and the lowest is seep/freshwater marsh at 56%. The original planting list can be found on our website, here. For the details and some pics, keep reading:
BY HABITAT TYPE:
SCRUB MX (77% species survival rate):
There are currently 15 species, including 3 that were self-sown. Dominant species include beach strawberry, CA fuschia, and miner's lettuce. I estimate that 60% of the plot is composed of these 3 species, as it is hard to differentiate individual plants. One coyote brush observed, with extra large leaves. Horkelia and Blue Witch are holding on but they are tiny. Self-sown red eldberry is taking off. We seem to have lost lupines (perhaps because they went in as tiny plugs) and seaside daisy.
PRAIRIE GRASSLAND (60% species survival rate):
There are 12 species, including 3 that were self-sown. CA phacelia, hummingbird sage, and woodland strawberry are clear winners. The Phacelia alone is covering at least 25% of the grassland surface area. One CA fescue is thriving. No Ruby Chalice Clarkia observed but perhaps we missed the window. Need to keep a lookout next spring. These species were not observed: CA Sheepburr, CA dandelion, SF wallflower.
OAK WOODLAND (88% species survival rate):
There are 19 species, including 2 that were self-sown. Snowberry species (Symphocarpus) hard to ID difference between common and creeping. Vigorous patches of pearly everlasting, one plant flowering but others were not. Winners seem to be: Symphoricarpos sp., Pink honeysuckle, lone buckeye is doing well, pearly everlasting and mugwort are spreading, woodland strawberry, sticky cinquefoil, heucheras. These species were not observed: Blue Blossom Ceanothus or Coast Live Oak.
SEEP/FRESHWATER MARSH (53% species survival rate):
There are 16 species, including 1 that was self-sown. Overall species survival rate is lower than other habitat zones at 53%. The clear winner is Bee plant - it is thriving, large and spreading. There were many species not observed that were supposed to have been planted in January such as CA oatgrass, seep monkeyflower, sneezeweed, evening primrose, CA buttercup, yellow eyed grass, fringecups.
MAINTENANCE: We originally intended to trial two different maintenance strategies, where we left half the plot untouched, seeing what could survive despite the continued build up of leaf litter and debris that would surely accumulate. However, we quickly decided to remove the debris every few months because it seemed clear that the plants would be smothered. If we can expand in the future, I’d like to carve out a section where we plant the strongest species and don’t remove the litter.
FUTURE THOUGHTS: So far, we have maintained more species diversity that I originally hoped for. With the removal of annual weeds, many spreading species are thriving, most notably bee plant, CA phacelia, strawberries, mugwort, CA fuschia, miner’s lettuce and hummingbird sage. Larger shrub species have taken off and may continue to thrive if given enough space like red elderberry, Pacific ninebark, honeysuckles, cow parsnip, and even buckeye. As we move into the 2nd and 3rd years, we might start prioritizing biomass over species diversity - the idea being that if we can cultivate a handful of species that can take up space and hold their own against the constant raining down of debris, then we can begin to jumpstart the under and mid story habitat that’s often missing but so important for birds and other wildlife.
