NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYINVASIVE PLANT SPECIES POSE A GREAT THREAT TO BOTH AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS LEADING TO AN ESTIMATED LOSS OF $34 BILLION IN THE US, ANNUALLY. MANY INVASIVE SPECIES CREATE PERSISTENT CHANGES IN SOIL PROPERTIES, WHICH PERSISTS EVEN AFTER THE REMOVAL OF THE INVASIVE SPECIES (TERMED AS THE LEGACY EFFECT). THESE CHANGES IN SOIL PROPERTIES IMPEDES THE EFFORTS TO RESTORE THE INVADED ECOSYSTEMS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE WITH INVASIVE SPECIES THAT PRODUCE LARGE QUANTITIES OF BIOMASS THAT CONTAIN CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS DIFFERENT FROM THAT IN THE BIOMASS OF NATIVE SPECIES. THESE CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS UNDERGO MICROBIAL DECOMPOSITION AND ARE INCORPORATED INTO SOILS LEADING TO CHANGES IN THE AMOUNT AND CHEMISTRY OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER. MOST OF THESE INVADER-DERIVED CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS WILL PERSIST IN SOIL PREVENTING THE GERMINATION OR GROWTH OF THE NATIVE SPECIES EVEN AFTER THE REMOVAL OF THE INVASIVE SPECIES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH FOCUSES ON OBTAINING A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH THE TISSUE CHEMISTRY OF INVASIVE SPECIES CREATES THE LEGACY EFFECT IN THE INVADED ECOSYSTEMS. THE INFLUENCE OF SOIL MINERALOGY IN FACILITATING THE CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE LEGACY EFFECT WILL BE EVALUATED AT REGIONAL SCALES. FURTHER THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL TEST VARIOUS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO SUCCESSFULLY RESTORE THE INVADED ECOSYSTEMS TO THEIR PRE-INVASION STATUS USING VARIOUS SOIL AMENDMENTS. THE STUDY WILL UTILIZE MULTIPLE INVASIVE SPECIES THAT ARE PREVALENT IN EASTERN UNITED STATES THAT PRODUCES DIFFERENT LITTER CHEMISTRY. THE PROPOSED SOIL AMENDMENTS WOULD SEQUESTER THE INVADER-DERIVED COMPOUNDS, AND ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND METHODS THAT INCREASE THE SOIL HEALTH, WHICH IN TURN WOULD ACCELERATING THE NATURAL RECOVERY OF THE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE INVADED SITES. THE INSIGHT GAINED FROM THIS RESEARCH WOULD BE INSTRUMENTAL IN FORMULATING KNOWLEDGE-BASED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO REMOVE THE LEGACY EFFECT OF INVASIVE SPECIES FROM INVADED ECOSYSTEMS.