Presidio and Climate Change

The serpentine soils and sand dunes habitat of the Presidio and a Presidio clarkia

Will Elder

The Presidio is home to some of the rarest plant species in the world, whose existence relies on the Mediterranean climatic conditions of the area. The serpentine soils and sand dunes host many rare species that are highly specialized to their current habitat in the Presidio.

Even small changes in temperature, rainfall, fog, or invasive species can prove devastating to these fragile plant communities that exist nowhere else. Plant restoration work is ongoing at the Presidio to help bring back and maintain these rare members of the coastal plant communities like the endangered Presidio clarkia.