**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** WITH CHANGING CLIMATE, AN IMPORTANT CONCERN IS MAINTAINING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, SUCH AS CARBON SEQUESTRATION, NUTRIENT CYCLING, SOIL STABILIZATION, AND HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE, AS MANY NATIVE SPECIES OF TREES ARE EXPECTED TO UNDERGO STRESS OR DEATH WITH RISING TEMPERATURES AND CHANGING PATTERNS OF PRECIPITATION. ONE WAY TO MITIGATE IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION IS THROUGH ASSISTED MIGRATION, WHICH IS THE HUMAN TRANSFER OF SPECIES WHOSE HABITAT IS EXPECTED TO SHIFT INTO NEW AREAS IN THE COMING CENTURY. BY MOVING THESE TREES EARLY, WE ALLOW THEM TO BEGIN ESTABLISHING NOW. HOWEVER, WHILE NATIVE TREES MAY STRUGGLE UNDER FUTURE CONDITIONS, THE HUMAN TRANSFERRED SPECIES ADAPTED TO FUTURE CLIMATE MAY BE CHALLENGED TO SURVIVE AND GROW IN A CLIMATE THAT IS NOT YET IDEAL FOR THEIR GROWTH. HOW DO WE BOTH SUPPORT OUR NATIVE TREES EXPECTED TO STRUGGLE UNDER FUTURE CLIMATES, AND THESE FUTURE-ADAPTED TREES THAT MAY STRUGGLE UNDER CURRENT CLIMATE? ONE SOLUTION MAY BE BEDROCK, THE SOLID ROCK UNDERLYING THE SOIL PROFILE. TWO MAIN BEDROCK TYPES ARE COMMONLY FOUND UNDER PENNSYLVANIA FORESTS: SANDSTONE AND SHALE. TREE SPECIES CAN HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR ONE BEDROCK COMPARED TO ANOTHER, WHICH MAY HAVE TO DO WITH PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE BEDROCKS THAT DRIVE DIFFERENCES IN NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY, PH, AND WATER RETENTION. IN THIS PROJECT, I WILL SEEK TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER TARGETED PLANTING OF TREE SPECIES OVER DIFFERENT BEDROCKS CAN HELP MEDIATE SURVIVAL OF NATIVE AND FUTURE-ADAPTED FOREST SPECIES. OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PROJECT, I WILL COLLECT TREE SEEDLING SURVIVORSHIP AND GROWTH DATA, CHARACTERIZE LEAF PHYSIOLOGY, AND ANALYZE GENETIC EXPRESSION TO UNDERSTAND HOW INDIVIDUALS FOR DIFFERENT SPECIES ARE RESPONDING TO BROAD CHANGES IN NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY ACROSS SITES WITH DIFFERENT UNDERLYING GEOLOGIES. PATTERNS OF SEEDLING SURVIVORSHIP, GROWTH, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL/GENETIC ADAPTATION WILL BE USED TO IDENTIFY SOIL/GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS EACH SPECIES NEEDS TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE AND GUIDE FUTURE PLANTING AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS.