OUR ABILITY TO FEED A GROWING HUMAN POPULATION DEPENDS ON HEALTHY SOILS THAT CAN SUSTAIN CROP PRODUCTION IN THE FACE OF WATER SCARCITY AND INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. SOIL HEALTH IS REALIZED WHEN SOIL CARBON (C) IS ACCRUED AND STABILIZED, WHILE NITROGEN (N) IS TIGHTLY RECYCLED TO SUSTAIN CROP PRODUCTION. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THIS CAN BE REALIZED IN DRY-LAND AGROECOSYSTEMS BY CONTINUE AND DIVERSE CROPPING SYSTEMS, WHICH INCLUDE A LEGUME IN THE ROTATION. THIS IS BECAUSE CONTINUE INPUTS SUPPORT SOIL C ACCRUAL AND SOIL ORGANIC MATTER AGGREGATION, WHILE THE INCORPORATION ON N-RICH LABILE INPUTS VIA THE LEGUME WOULD INCREASE N AVAILABILITY AND MICROBIAL EFFICIENCY, AND THE TWO COMBINED PROMOTE BENEFICIAL MICROBIAL NETWORK CONNECTIVITY, OVERALL RESULTING IN INCREASED SOIL C STABILIZATION AND N RECYCLING, THUS REGENERATING SOIL HEALTH. WE PROPOSE TO TEST OUR OVERARCHING HYPOTHESIS THROUGH A COMBINATION OF ON-FARM MONITORING OF MICROBIAL NETWORK AND SOIL STRUCTURE, FIELD EXPERIMENTAL MANIPULATIONS USING 13C AND 15N LABELED CROP RESIDUES, AND LABORATORY INCUBATIONS, WHICH LEVERAGE LONG-TERM AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS, WITH WHEAT-FALLOW AND CONTINUOUS CROPS WITH AND WITHOUT LEGUMES IN THE ROTATION IN THE SEMIARID CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS.