INCREASES IN DROUGHT FREQUENCY DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE ARE PREDICTED TO REDUCE CROP YIELDS, AND BUILDING SOIL CARBON IN AGRICULTURAL FIELDS IS ONE WAY TO INCREASE CROP DROUGHT TOLERANCE. MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES MEDIATE SOIL CARBON STORAGE, YET, IN ORDER TO LEVERAGE MICROBES TO MANAGE SOIL C UNDER DROUGHT STRESS, WE MUST UNDERSTAND MICROBIAL RESPONSES TO STRESS. THEREFORE, I PROPOSE TO TEST HOW MICROBIAL STRESS RESPONSE ALTERS SOIL C STORAGE, BY CHARACTERIZING TRAITS AND TRADE-OFFS IN SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES UNDER DROUGHT STRESS. I WILL MEASURE MICROBIAL COMMUNITY TRAITS AND TRADE-OFFS IN A LARGE-SCALE RAINOUT SHELTER EXPERIMENT IN A LONG-TERM CORN-SOY-WHEAT ROTATION EXPERIMENT AT KELLOGG BIOLOGICAL STATION LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH SITE. FROM THIS EXPERIMENT, I WILL MEASURE MICROBIAL COMMUNITY FUNCTION, VIA ENZYME ASSAYS, AND MICROBIAL TRAITS, VIA GENE ABUNDANCES, IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THREE HYPOTHESIZED FUNCTIONAL GROUPS: YIELD SPECIALISTS, RESOURCE ACQUIRERS, AND STRESS TOLERATORS. THROUGH THIS RESEARCH, I WILL DEVELOP A PREDICTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES FOR CARBON STORAGE AND INCREASED CROP DROUGHT TOLERANCE. BY ALTERING MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES, FARMERS WILL BE ABLE TO MANAGE FOR INCREASING CROP YIELDS AND FOR ESSENTIAL NATURAL RESOURCES, SUCH AS SOIL C STORAGE. DURING THIS USDA FELLOWSHIP, I WILL GAIN CRITICAL SKILLS IN RESEARCH, TEACHING, MENTORING, AND SCIENCE LEADERSHIP THAT WILL MAKE ME WELL SUITED TO PURSUE A CAREER AS A PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY.