VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) AREA TYPE OF CARBON CONTAINING CHEMICAL COMPOUND THAT CAN EXISTAS EITHERLIQUID ORGAS UNDER AMBIENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF VOCS ARE PRODUCED DURING THE DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL, AND THESE COMPOUNDS ARE USUALLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSUMPTIN BY SOIL MICROBES. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF THESE VOCS ON SOIL HEALTH PARAMETERS, ESPECIALLY THE STABILIZATION OF SOIL ORGANIC MATTER. TO DO THIS, WE WILL USE A STABLE ISOTOPE APPROACH TO TRACK THE CARBON CONTAINED IN VOCS INTO SOIL ORGANIC MATTER POOLS,AND DETERMINE THE FATE OF SOIL NITROGEN EXPOSED TO THESE COMPOUNDS. IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE ROLE OF SOIL MICROORGANISMS IN THE PRODUCTION AND STABILIZATION OF VOC CARBON, WE WILL USE CHARACTERIZE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES,QUANTIFY MICROBIAL BIOMASS AND QUANTIFY THE POPULATION OF NITRIFYING ORGANISMS. FINALLY WE WILL USE THE DATA ACQUIRED FROM THESE ANALYSES TO PREDICT THE TRANSFER OF CARBON FROM VOCS AND BETWEEN SOIL CARBON POOLS. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE OF INTEREST TO ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGISTS, AGROECOLOGISTS, MICROBIAL ECOLOGISTS, AND BIOGEOCHEMIST, AS THE CONTRIBUTION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS TO CARBON CYCLING AND EFFECTS ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT IS LIKELY TO INTEREST LAND MANAGERS THAT WANT TO INCREASE SOIL ORGANIC MATTER.