** 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 MICROBIOMES PLAY VITAL ROLES IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, MEDIATING PROCESSES LIKE DECOMPOSITION AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION. GIVEN THEIR INTRINSIC CONNECTIONS TO SOIL HEALTH, INTEGRATING NEW MICROBIAL PERSPECTIVES OFFERS TRANSFORMATIVE APPROACHES FOR SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT. HOWEVER, WE CURRENTLY LACK A ROBUST FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING HOW DIFFERENT AGRONOMIC PRACTICES CAN EFFECTIVELY RECRUIT AND OPTIMIZE SOIL MICROBIOMES THAT ENHANCE ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE. ORGANIC FARMING PRACTICES SUCH AS THE USE OF COVER CROPS OR CARBON-RICH SOIL AMENDMENTS CAN INCREASE SOIL CARBON. FOR FARMERS IN THE COASTAL PLAINS, THESE BENEFITS CAN BE HIGHLY VARIABLE ACROSS SYSTEMS. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO MEASURE HOW SOIL MICROBIOMES RESPOND TO ORGANIC TRANSITION AND TO QUANTIFY MICROBIAL FUNCTIONS RELATED TO CARBON DYNAMICS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. WE WILL STUDY SOILS FROM A THREE-YEAR ORGANIC TRANSITION FIELD EXPERIMENT AT TWO LOCATIONS IN NORTH CAROLINA TESTING HOW DIFFERENT AMENDMENTS (COMPOST, 50/50 COMPOST AND BIOCHAR, BIOCHAR) AND APPLICATION RATES CAN ACCELERATE SOIL HEALTH BENEFITS. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, WE WILL PERFORM AMPLICON AND METAGENOME SEQUENCING TO DETERMINE HOW DIFFERENT ORGANIC TREATMENTS SHAPE MICROBIOME COMPOSITION AND GENETIC FUNCTIONAL POTENTIAL (OBJECTIVE 1). MOLECULAR DATA WILL LEVERAGE MEASUREMENTS OF MICROBIAL BIOMASS, RESPIRATION, CARBON UTILIZATION, AND ENZYME FUNCTIONAL POTENTIAL (OBJECTIVE 2). FINALLY, WE WILL ASSESS HOW ORGANIC AMENDMENTS IMPACT COMMUNITY RESILIENCE BY MEASURING CO2 AND N2O FLUX USING SOIL INCUBATIONS WITH SIMULATED EXTREME PRECIPITATION EVENTS (OBJECTIVE 3). WE AIM TO BUILD A PREDICTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR USING AGRONOMIC PRACTICES AND ORGANIC AMENDMENTS TO OPTIMIZE SOIL MICROBIOMES AND BENEFICIAL ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS THAT SUPPORT CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE.