** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SOIL EROSION IS CONVENTIONALLY STUDIED ON RELATIVELY STEEP HILLSLOPES, BUT IT ALSO OCCURS ON LOW-SLOPED AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAINS BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE OF CHANNELS CARVED INTO THE SURFACE THAT REGULARLY CONVEY FLOODWATERS FROM THE ADJACENT RIVER. COMPARED TO HILLSLOPES, THE SOIL-EROSION MECHANISMS AND PROCESSES DEVELOPING AND SUSTAINING FLOODPLAIN CHANNELS ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAINS EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT SOIL EROSION BECAUSE FOCUSED EROSION FROM REGULAR FLOODING IN LOCATIONS WITHOUT CROP COVER ALLOW CHANNELS TO FORM. WE WILL TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS ON THE AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAIN ALONG THE EAST FORK WHITE RIVER IN INDIANA WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART DRONE-BASED LIDAR, NUMERICAL MODELING, AND STATE-WIDE LIDAR ELEVATION DIFFERENCING TO MEASURE AND SIMULATE SOIL EROSION. OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND SOIL EROSION IN CHANNELS ON LOW-SLOPED AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAINS. THIS PROBLEM IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT AFFECTS CROP PRODUCTIVITY, DOWNSTREAM WATER QUALITY FROM TURBIDITY AND NUTRIENTS ATTACHED TO SEDIMENTS, AND THE COST OF TREATING FRESHWATER WITH HIGH TURBIDITY FOR OTHER USES.THIS PROPOSAL INVOLVES MEASUREMENT OF SOIL ERODIBILITY AND EROSION TO CONSERVE OUR NATURAL RESOURCE BASE WHILE FARMING MORE MARGINAL LANDSCAPES BY DIRECTLY MEASURING SOIL EROSION (OBJECTIVE 1) IN A MARGINAL, AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAIN. FURTHERMORE, WE WILL SIMULATE HOW A VARIETY OF VEGETATIVE COVER TYPES AND PLANTING TIMES (OBJECTIVE 2) AFFECT SOIL EROSION AND CHANNEL FORMATION TO UNDERSTAND THE KEY FACTORS THAT DRIVE SOIL EROSION AND THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED BY FARMERS TO MINIMIZE SOIL (AND CROP) LOSS IN THE FUTURE. FINALLY, WE WILL ASSESS HOW MUCH TOPSOIL EROSION OCCURS ON FLOODPLAINS WITH AND WITHOUT FLOODPLAIN CHANNELS ACROSS INDIANA (OBJECTIVE 3). THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THIS WORK WILL IDENTIFY THE PROCESSES CAUSING SOIL EROSION ON LOW-SLOPED AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAINS, AND QUANTIFY THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM IN INDIANA. THE RESULTING KNOWLEDGE WILL INFORM HOW MARGINAL FLOODPLAIN AGROECOSYSTEMS CAN BE SUSTAINABLY MANAGED IN THE FUTURE TO MINIMIZE SOIL LOSS AND IMPROVE DOWNSTREAM WATER QUALITY.