**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AS GLOBAL TEMPERATURES WARM DUE TO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM HUMAN ACTIVITIES, THE POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW. AS SUCH, WE FACE THE GREAT CHALLENGE OF MEETING THE ENERGY AND FOOD DEMANDS OF A GROWING POPULATION WHILE MANAGING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TO LIMIT WARMING. HISTORICALLY, ENERGY NEEDS HAVE LARGELY BEEN MET BY FOSSIL FUELS (E.G., OIL AND GAS), WHICH EMIT COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF GREENHOUSE GASSES, DRIVING CLIMATE CHANGE. SHIFTING TOWARD PLANT-BASED ENERGY, WHICH MAY ALSO CAPTURE CARBON FROM THE ATMOSPHERE IN PLANTS AND SOIL, IS AN ATTRACTIVE ALTERNATIVE. HOWEVER, WE MUST MANAGE OUR CROPLANDS CAREFULLY, SINCE PRIME FARMLANDS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND TO MEET THE IMMINENT NEED TO INCREASE FOOD CROP PRODUCTION. DEVELOPING BIOENERGY CROPPING SYSTEMS ON LANDS NOT VIABLE FOR FOOD PRODUCTION DUE TO POOR SOIL CONDITIONS (I.E., MARGINAL LANDS) MAY HELP ALLEVIATE THE COMPETITION BETWEEN FOOD AND ENERGY CROP PRODUCTION FOR LAND. THE APPALACHIAN REGION IS HOME TO VAST AMOUNTS OF MARGINAL LAND DUE TO ITS HISTORY OF EXTENSIVE COAL EXTRACTION WHICH HAS LEFT MANY LANDSCAPES WITH DISTURBED SOIL PROPERTIES (E.G., LOST SOIL STRUCTURE, LOW SOIL FERTILITY). CULTIVATION OF ROBUST BIOENERGY CROPS LIKE MISCANTHUS X GIGANTEUS MAY BE FEASIBLE ON THESE LANDS, LEADING TO MULTIFACETED BENEFITS LIKE CARBON STORAGE AND SOIL STRUCTURE RECOVERY. HOWEVER, WE LACK KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO BEST FOSTER THESE SYSTEMS FOR MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY.VAST DIVERSITY IN THE PROPERTIES OF MARGINAL LANDS BASED ON PAST DISTURBANCES MAKES PREDICTING THE POTENTIAL OF THESE SYSTEMS TO PRODUCE HIGH YIELDS AND STORE CARBON DIFFICULT. FURTHER, COMMON AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES LIKE FERTILIZATION MAY IMPACT PROCESSES OCCURRING IN THE SOIL OF THESE LANDS, CAUSING IMPACTS TO PLANT PRODUCTIVITY AND SOIL CARBON STORAGE POTENTIAL. SPECIFICALLY, THE INTERACTIONS OCCURRING BETWEEN NUTRIENT-CYCLING MICROBES (BACTERIA AND FUNGI) IN SOIL AND PLANTS MAY BE IMPACTED BY FERTILIZATION. SOIL MICROBES WORK TO LIBERATE NUTRIENTS FOR PLANT USE IN RETURN FOR CARBON SENT BELOWGROUND FROM PLANT PHOTOSYNTHESIS. WHEN FERTILIZED, PLANTS MAY RESPOND BY CHANGING THEIR ROOT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION (E.G., ALLOCATING LESS CARBON BELOWGROUND). THIS CAN IMPACT THE AMOUNT AND STABILITY OF CARBON IN THESE SOILS AS WELL AS THE INTERACTIVITY OF PLANTS WITH SOIL MICROBES. GIVEN THESE AREAS OF UNCERTAINTY, THIS PROJECT SEEKS TO STUDY THE TRAITS OF MISCANTHUS ROOTS IN MARGINAL SOILS VARIED LEVELS OF DISTURBANCE HISTORY (E.G., INTENSITY OF MINING DISTURBANCE) AND ACROSS DIFFERENT FERTILIZATION SCENARIOS (ORGANIC OR CONVENTIONAL NUTRIENT ADDITIONS). WE WILL COLLECT AND ANALYZE SOIL AND ROOT SAMPLES FROM ESTABLISHED FIELD EXPERIMENTS AND DETERMINE HOW THESE VARIABLES IMPACT ROOT TRAITS (E.G., ROOT STRUCTURE) AND SOIL MICROBIAL FUNCTIONS THAT GOVERN SOIL CARBON AND NUTRIENT CYCLES. THIS INFORMATION WILL FOSTER A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE POTENTIAL OF MARGINAL LANDS TO HOST PRODUCTIVE, SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY AGROECOSYSTEMS, CONTRIBUTI,NG BROADLY TO THE IMMINENT SOCIETAL NEED TO GENERATE RENEWABLE ENERGY WHILE ALSO MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND NOT INTERFERING WITH FOOD CROP PRODUCTION. ADDITIONALLY, THIS WORK SUPPORTS THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF AN EARLY CAREER FEMALE SCIENTIST AND WILL RESULT IN OUTREACH EFFORTS AIMED AT APPALACHIAN COMMUNITIES AND CONSERVATION PROFESSIONALS.