** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE WILL CONTINUE TO SHAPE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL PRECIPITATION PATTERNS, PROLONGING PERIODS OF DROUGHT AND INTENSIFYING HEAVY RAINFALL EVENTS. THE SOILS THAT SUPPORT OUR AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THESE SHIFTING CONDITIONS. IN THE SOIL ENVIRONMENT, DRAMATIC FLUCTUATIONS IN MOISTURE CONDITIONS INFLUENCE THE HABITAT AND ACTIVITY OF SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES. MICROBES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN MEDIATING NUTRIENT CYCLES IN THE SOIL, BUT WHEN THE SOIL IS TOO DRY OR IS SATURATED WITH WATER, THEIR ABILITY TO CYCLE AND STORE IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS LIKE CARBON MAY BE HINDERED. STORING MORE CARBON IN AGRICULTURAL SOILS HAS THE DUAL BENEFIT OF IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL FERTILITY AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE DRAWDOWN OF ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE, A KEY ECOSYSTEM SERVICE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION. THUS, IT IS IMPORTANT TO INVESTIGATE HOW MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES AND SOIL CARBON DYNAMICS WILL RESPOND TO PRECIPITATION CHANGE.WHILE STORING CARBON IN AGRICULTURAL SOILS IS A PRIORITY, WE LACK A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THIS PROCESS WILL BE AFFECTED BY MORE FREQUENT DROUGHT AND MORE EXTREME RAINFALL, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THE PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILSVARY GREATLY FROM PLACE TO PLACE. IMPORTANTLY, THE PHYSICAL SOIL ENVIRONMENT, AND PARTICULARLY THE TEXTURE OF THE SOIL, CONTROLS RESPONSES TO PRECIPITATION: CLAY-RICH SOILS RETAIN WATER AND REMAIN SATURATED FOR LONGER, WHILE SANDY SOILS PROVIDE GREATER INFILTRATION AND DRY OUT QUICKLY. BECAUSE VARIABLE SOIL TEXTURE PRODUCES VARIABLE MOISTURE CONDITIONS, MICROBES AND THEIR ASSOCIATED CARBON CYCLING PROCESSES ARE LIKELY TO BE ALTERED AS RAINFALL BECOMES MORE EPISODIC. THIS PROJECT WILL EXPLORE WHETHER SOILS OF DIFFERENT TEXTURES STORE CARBON DIFFERENTLY WHEN THEY ARE TOO DRY, TOO WET, AND ALTERNATE BETWEEN THESE STATES. IN A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT, WE WILL CLOSELY TRACK MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES AND THE AMOUNT OF CARBON STORED IN SOILS SPANNING A WIDE RANGE OF TEXTURES. THE LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT WILL ALLOW US TO CONTROL THE MOISTURE OF THE SOIL AND APPLY WATER ADDITION TREATMENTSTO MIMIC DROUGHT, CREATE SATURATED CONDITIONS, AND IMPOSEFLUCTUATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO. INSIGHT FROM THIS WORK WILL ENABLE AGRICULTURAL PRACTITIONERS TO MAKE SITE-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT DECISIONS BASED ON THE TEXTURE OF THEIR SOIL AND IMPROVE MANAGEMENT OF CROPLAND CARBON STOCKS.