As the environmental threats of the climate crisis escalate, understanding the ecological and evolutionary implications of human activities transforming the world is essential. When confronted with disturbances to their livelihood, populations will migrate, adapt, acclimate, or die. For plants, as sessile organisms, the ability to migrate within a short timeframe is rarely an option. Phenotypic plasticity plays an evolutionary role, allowing plants to adapt to varying environmental conditions. Various fitness tradeoffs have been documented concerning plasticity in annual plants, often leading to a decrease or extinction of a local population or subspecies. However, a better understanding of plasticity in response to anthropogenic disturbance for perennial plants will help recognize the ecological significance of such losses in communities where drought, wildfires, and air pollution exacerbate climate change. In this study, we aim to analyze plant morphological and physiological traits in response to nitrogen deposition from automobile pollution in the Los Angeles Basin. We propose a greenhouse experiment comparing Chaparral native perennial Eriogonum fasciculatum grown from wild seeds sampled in high-pollution areas and low-pollution areas to determine the costs of plasticity in this plant. Seeds will be planted following a crossed and nested design with soil pollution level as a factor nested within each plant population. We expect our findings to contribute to our understanding of anthropogenic impacts on the ecology and evolution of native perennial plants and, to local conservation initiatives.

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