SIGNIFICANCE: MICROBES PLAY A KEY ROLE IN MODULATING GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG, E.G., CO2, CH4 AND N2O) EMISSIONS IN AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS. THE DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE, AND FUNCTION OF SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ARE AFFECTED BY MANY FACTORS SUCH AS CLIMATE, LIVESTOCK GRAZING, MANURE APPLICATION, AND TILLAGE. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE INVESTIGATED MICROBE-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS AT LABORATORY AND IN-SITU PLOT SCALES, HOWEVER, FEW STUDIES TO DATE HAVE INVESTIGATED MICROBE-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE SPATIAL (E.G., LABORATORY, PLOT, ECOSYSTEM/LANDSCAPE) AND TEMPORAL (E.G., HOURLY, DAILY, SEASONALLY) SCALES UNDER LIVESTOCK GRAZING AND MANURE APPLICATION.INTELLECTUAL MERITS:THE RESEARCH COMPONENT OF THIS INTEGRATED PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND APPLY A MULTI-SCALE AND INTEGRATED OBSERVATION AND MODELING FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS THE MAJOR SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS RELEVANT TO MICROBE-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS. THE OVERALL RESEARCH GOAL IS TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF AND TO MODEL MICROBE-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS IN GRAZED LANDS AND MANURE-APPLIED CROPLANDS ACROSS VARIOUS SPATIAL-TEMPORAL SCALES. THE SUPPORTING RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ARE (1) TO QUANTIFY THE ROLE OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITY DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE, AND FUNCTION ON CO2, N2O, AND CH4 (GHG) EMISSIONS FROM GRASSLANDS AND WINTER WHEAT CROPLANDS; (2) TO DEVELOP AND IMPROVE THE MICROBIAL PROCESSES SUB-MODEL (DNDC) TO ESTIMATE GHG EMISSIONS; AND (3) TO APPLY THE PLANT-SOIL-MICROBE MODELS (DNDC) TO ESTIMATE GHG EMISSIONS ACROSS LANDSCAPE AND WATERSHED SCALES. THE MULTI-SCALE OBSERVATION WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AT THE INTEGRATED GRASSLAND AND CROPLAND OBSERVATION SITES IN OKLAHOMA, WHERE GHG FLUXES ARE MEASURED WITH INSTRUMENTS AT EDDY COVARIANCE TOWER, STATIC AND AUTOMATED SOIL CHAMBERS. MICROBIAL COMMUNITY DIVERSITY, STRUCTURE, AND FUNCTIONS WILL ALSO BE ANALYZED SIMULTANEOUSLY USING HIGH THROUGHPUT FUNCTIONAL GENE ARRAY AND SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGIES AT THOSE PLOTS WITH STATIC AND AUTOMATED SOIL CHAMBERS UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS OF CLIMATE (RAINFALL), LIVESTOCK GRAZING AND MANURE APPLICATION.THE EDUCATION COMPONENT OF THIS INTEGRATED PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A MULTI-LEVEL AND CROSS-DISCIPLINARY EDUCATION FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS THE MAJOR EDUCATION QUESTIONS RELEVANT TO THE HUMAN CAPACITY FOR AGRICULTURE. THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE PROPOSED EDUCATION PROJECT IS TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND THE HUMAN CAPACITY IN UNDERSTANDING THE RESULTS FROM AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, USING RELEVANT RESULTS FOR AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE AND DECISION MAKING, AND PARTICIPATING IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. THE PROPOSED EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES WILL PROVIDE A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF INTEGRATED SCIENCE TO THE RESEARCH BASE AND ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN OUR LIVES. THE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, FIELD DAYS, AND GISDAY WILL ASSIST TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND CITIZENS TO BECOME MORE ACTIVE STEWARDS OF THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT.POTENTIAL IMPACTS AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT WILL SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF AND MODELING CAPACITY OF MICROBE-CLIMATE INTERACTIONS IN GRAZED GRASSLANDS AND WINTER WHEAT FIELDS, AND MANURE-APPLIED WINTER WHEAT CROPLANDS. THE MAJOR EXPECTED RESEARCH OUTCOMES INCLUDE (1) IMPROVED AND INTEGRATED CAPACITY TO MEASURE MICROBE-CLIMATE INTERACTION ACROSS MULTIPLE SPATIAL-TEMPORAL SCALES, AND (2) IMPROVED PLANT-SOIL-MICROBE MODELS (DNDC) TO ESTIMATE CO2, N2O AND CH4 FLUXES ACROSS LANDSCAPE AND WATERSHED SCALES. THE PROPOSED EDUCATION PROJECT WILL PROVIDE QUALITY, AUTHENTIC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS AND LINK STUDENTS AND TEACHERS TO PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELD. STUDENTS WHO ARE TRADITIONALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM FIELDS OF STUDY WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE SKILLS AND RECEIVE MENTORING. THROUGH THE CITIZEN SCIENCE INITIATIVE A LARGER ARRAY OF STAKEHOLDERS WILL BE INVOLVED IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE STUDIES.