COMPOST COMPOSITION EFFECTS ON MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES, DEEP CARBON, AND NUTRIENT CYCLING IN ORGANIC DRY-LAND WHEAT SYSTEMS.

The overall, long-term goalsof this project are to better predict long term benefits of composts on soil health, microbial communities, carbon storage, and nutrient cycling in dryland soils. We will work towards these goals through the following specific objectives:1. Characterizing how microbial communities and their function are affected by the application of a single applications of compost with various characteristics to organic dryland systems over time.2. Monitoring carbon stocks down to the cemented layer at fine scale to capture SOC changes as a function of compost type and time.3. Investigating soil N, P and C cycling and how these cycles are interlinked in organic dryland wheat systems