This visit is to monitor and collect data from the reciprocal transplant experiment entitled Landscape-level mapping of plant microbiomes: Coast vs Inland and is intended to be planting day and set up of structures important to the study. See project abstract below for additional details: This project seeks to complement recent efforts at mapping the microbiome diversity of California coastal prairie across a latitudinal gradient with a reciprocal transplant of two of the most common plant species found in the coastal prairie with their inland counterparts. Coastal prairie is susceptible to climate change as altered precipitation regimes and lower instance and duration of coastal fogs may enhance salt stress and drought, as well as increase vulnerability to pathogens. However, inland plants are more susceptible to drought and extreme fires. Much of this habitat also faces various levels of disturbance from invasive species to development. It also contains sites of high endemism, making it a target for conservation. The aim of this study is to contribute to our understanding of the distribution patterns of plant microbiomes and their relatedness to plant fitness and survival vis a vis local adaptation.

Approved