STREAM, RIPARIAN, AND WETLAND RESTORATIONS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING IMPLEMENTED TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND SOIL HEALTH. RECONNECTING FLOODPLAINS WITH BURIED, RELICT, HYDRIC SOILS IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT TO LEVERAGE VALUABLE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES SUCH AS DENITRIFICATION. DENITRIFICATION REMOVES NITRATE AND IMPROVES WATER QUALITY. HOWEVER, WE KNOW LITTLE ABOUT HOW RELICT SOILS RECOVER FOLLOWING RESTORATION. THE OVERALL QUESTION WE ADDRESS HERE IS - HOW DO NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS AND PROCESSES AND MICROBIAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION FOR RELICT, HYDRIC, SOILS CHANGE FOLLOWING RESTORATION AND WHAT ARE THE KEY FACTORS INVOLVED? WE EXPECT THAT: (A) IT WILL TAKE 1-2 YEARS FOR RELICT SOIL NITROGEN (N) PROCESS RATES TO INCREASE AND MATCH THOSE FOR ADJOINING NON-RELICT WETLANDS; (B) RELICT SOILS MICROBIAL COMPOSITION WILL NOT CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY; AND (C) DENITRIFICATION RECOVERY WILL BE STIMULATED BY A COMBINATION OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PRIMING. WE PROPOSE TO TEST THESE HYPOTHESES AT A NEW, STREAM/FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION SITE WHERE A 1000-YEAR OLD BURIED, ORGANIC HORIZON HAS BEEN EXPOSED ON THE FLOODPLAIN. THE CHANGES IN N AND MICROBIAL COMMUNITY WILL BE DETERMINED THROUGH A NOVEL COMBINATION OF METHODS INCLUDING CHANGES IN - SOIL PORE WATER N CONCENTRATIONS, ISOTOPIC VALUES OF PORE WATER NITRATE-N, SOIL N SPECIES, RATES OF SOIL N MINERALIZATION, NITRIFICATION AND DENITRIFICATION AND MICROBIAL CHARACTERIZATION VIA QPCR, AND HIGH-THROUGHPUT SEQUENCING. THE STUDY WILL INCLUDE FIELD MEASUREMENTS, A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT, AND DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTUAL AND EMPIRICAL MODELS. THIS STUDY WILL HELP BETTER DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT RESTORATION PRACTICES AND CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SOIL MODELS FOR RELICT SOILS.