MEASURING TOTAL SOIL BIODIVERSITY IS ONE OF THE MOST BASIC, YET FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS AN INTEGRATIVE MEASURE OF SOIL HEALTH. HOWEVER, CURRENTLY THERE IS NO SYSTEM THAT COULD QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY IDENTIFY THE IMMENSE BIODIVERSITY IN SOIL. LEVERAGING AVAILABLE HIGH-THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING TECHNOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATIC TOOLS, THIS SEED PROPOSAL WILL 1) DEVELOP AND TEST A SERIES OF RIBOSOMAL MARKER GENES THAT CAN BE SEQUENCED TOGETHER TO IDENTIFY MAJOR GROUPS OF SOIL ORGANISMS INCLUDING BACTERIA, ARCHAEA, FUNGI, ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI, UNICELLULAR EUKARYOTES (PROTISTS), OOMYCETES, NEMATODES, AND INVERTEBRATES; AND 2) DEVELOP AND STREAMLINE A FLEXIBLE AND TRANSFERABLE MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM THAT WILL ENABLE RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF TOTAL SOIL BIODIVERSITY. THESE TOOLS WILL BE BENCHMARKED USING A SET OF 66 SOIL SAMPLES THAT CAME FROM DIFFERENT SOIL TYPES, MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND DISTURBANCE FREQUENCIES. THE RESULTING BIODIVERSITY MEASUREMENTS (RICHNESS, PHYLOGENETIC, AND FUNCTIONAL) WILL PROVIDE THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE EXAMPLES OF HOW BIODIVERSITY MEASURES CAN PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO WHAT MAKES A HEALTHY SOIL, AND PROVIDE SUPPORTING DATA FOR DEVELOPING WORK IN THE FIELD OF SOIL HEALTH.