Education

2004-2010 Ph.D. University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. Dissertation: Landscape heterogeneity in the soil nitrogen cycle of an alpine-subalpine ecosystem. Mentor: Dr. William D. Bowman

1999-2003. B.A. University of California, Berkeley. Integrative Biology with Honors.

1995-1999. Mountain View High School, Mountain View, California.

 

Research Experience

2021-present. Associate Professor, University of Texas at El Paso, Department of Biological Sciences.

2015-2021 Assistant Professor, University of Texas at El Paso, Department of Biological Sciences.

2013-2014. Postdoctoral Research Associate. U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS), Canyonlands Research Station, Moab Utah, laboratories of Dr. Jayne Belnap and Dr. Sasha Reed.

2010-2013. Postdoctoral Research Associate. University of Toledo, Department of Environmental Sciences, laboratory of Dr. Michael Weintraub.

2004-2010 Dissertation research. University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, laboratory of Dr. William D. Bowman.

2004. Research intern. Desert Research Institute, laboratory of Dr. John A. Arnone III.

2001-2003. Honors thesis. University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, laboratories of Dr. Carla M. D’Antonio and Dr. Todd E. Dawson, with Dr Eric Berlow.

2001. Semester abroad on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia (Tahiti). Moth diversity and role in plant pollination.

2000. Independent research, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, laboratory of Dr. Cheryl Briggs, with Dr. Martha Hoopes.

1997-1998. Independent research. Stanford University, Departments of Pathology and Cancer Biology, laboratory of Dr. Teresa Wang, with Dr. Ralph Davis.

 

Grant Funding

2025-2028. CrustNet: Global determinants of biodiversity in biocrusts, and outcomes for ecosystem function, resistance, and resilience . National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology. $307,069. (PI, UTEP; collaborative award)

2024-2025. New insights into phosphorus acquisition strategies by quantifying untargeted metabolites in dryland soils . Department of Energy, Office of Science, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. In-kind instrumentation award, value $68,000. (Co-Lead)

2020-2026. Network cluster: Patterns and controls of ecohydrology, CO₂ fluxes, and nutrient availability in pedogenic carbonate-dominated dryland critical zones . National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences. $5,546,656. (co-PI)

2020-2022. MRI: Acquisition of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer for water, energy, and environmental sciences. National Science Foundation, Major Research Instrumentation. $119,365. (Supporting Investigator)

2019-2022. MRI: Acquisition of a carbon dioxide isotope analyzer for monitoring real-time carbon fluxes in extreme environments and training the next generation of environmental scientists. National Science Foundation, Major Research Instrumentation. $131,324. (PI)

2019-2024. Combining sensors, geophysical surveys, and geochemical tools to investigate pedogenic carbonate precipitation and CO₂ emissions in irrigated aridland soils . National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences. $683,756. (co-PI)

2016-2022. Testing the fungal loop hypothesis for carbon and nitrogen cycling in dryland ecosystems . National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology. $769,702. (PI; collaborative award, lead institution)

 

Fellowships and Awards

2017. Certificate of Excellence in Reviewing, Biogeochemistry.

2009. John W. Marr Ecology Fund, University of Colorado at Boulder

2009. Student Research Grant, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, CU Boulder

2008. Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation.

2005-2008. Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation.

2002-2003. Beckman Scholars Program, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.

2001. Biology Fellows Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

2000. Research Experience for Undergraduates, National Science Foundation.

 

Peer-reviewed publications

Holguin, J., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. J., McLaren, J. R. (2025). Low retention of added nitrogen at realistic levels of simulated nitrogen deposition in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 211: 109977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109977

Young, K. E., Sala, O., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Tucker, C., Finger-Higgens, R., Starbuck, M., Reed, S. C. (2025). Biocrust Mosses and Cyanobacteria Exhibit Distinct Carbon Uptake Responses to Variations in Precipitation Amount and Frequency. Ecology Letters 28: e70125. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70125

Singh, T., Sandhu, P. S., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2024). Thiourea Supplementation Improves Drought Stress Response of Ridge-Sown and Mulch-Applied Rainfed Maize (Zea mays L.) via Improved Leaf Source to Grain Sink Dynamics. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 210: e12755. https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.12755

Díaz-Martínez, P., Maestre, F. T., Moreno-Jiménez, E., et al. (2024). Vulnerability of mineral-associated soil organic carbon to climate across global drylands. Nature Climate Change 14: 976–982. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02087-y

Gross, N., Maestre, F. T., Liancourt, P., et al. (2024). Unforeseen plant phenotypic diversity in a dry and grazed world. Nature 632: 808–814. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07731-3

Eldridge, D. J., Ding, J., Dorrough, J., et al. (2024). Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands. Nature Plants 10: 760–770. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01670-7

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Is Asaf, I., Mauritz, M., Roman, K., Keats, E., Tweedie, C. E., McLaren, J. R. (2023). Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland. Ecosphere 14: e4475. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4475

Hoellrich, M. R., James, D. K., Bustos, D., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Santiago, L. S., Pietrasiak, N. (2023). Biocrust carbon exchange varies with crust type and time on Chihuahuan Desert gypsum soils. Frontiers in Microbiology 14: 1128631. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1128631

Maestre, F., Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Y., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., et al. (121 total authors), Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2022). Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands. Science 358: 915–920. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq4062

Adelizzi, R., O’Brien, E. A., Hoellrich, M., Rudgers, J. A., Mann, M., Fernandes, V. M. C., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Stricker, E. (2022). Disturbance to biocrusts decreased cyanobacteria, N-fixer abundance, and grass leaf N but increased fungal abundance. Ecology 103: e3656. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3656

Weber, B., Belnap, J., Büdel, B., Antoninka, A. J., Barger, N. N., Chaudhary, V. B., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Eldridge, D. J., Faist, A. M., Ferrenberg, S., Havrilla, C. A., Huber-Sannwald, E., Malam Issa, O., Maestre, F. T., Reed, S. C., Rodriguez-Caballero, E., Tucker, C., Young, K. E., Zhang, Y., Zhao, Y., Zhou, X., Bowker, M. A. (2022). What is a biocrust? A refined, contemporary definition for a broadening research community. Biological Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12862

Young, K. E., Ferrenberg, S., Reibold, R., Reed, S. C., Swenson, T., Northen, T., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2022). Vertical movement of soluble carbon and nutrients from biocrusts to subsurface mineral soils. Geoderma 405: 115495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115495

Young, K. E., Reed, S. C., Ferrenberg, S., Faist, A., Winkler, D. E., Cort, C., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2021). Incorporating biogeochemistry into dryland restoration. BioScience 71: 907–917. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab043

Martinez, J., McLaren, J., Tweedie, C. E., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2021). Soil enzymes are preferentially associated with larger particles in highly organic Arctic tundra soils. Elementa 9: 00020. https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2021.00020

Stricker, E., Crain, G., Rudgers, J., Sinsabaugh, R., Fernandes, V., Nelson, C., Giraldo-Silva, A., Garcia-Pichel, F., Belnap, J., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2021). What could explain δ¹³C signatures in biocrust cyanobacteria of drylands? Microbial Ecology 81: 134–145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-020-01536-3

Bonilla-Bird, N., Ye, Y., Akter, T., Valdes-Bracamontes, C., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Saupe, G., Flores-Margez, J., Ma, L., Hernandez-Viezcas, J., Peralta-Videa, J., Gardea-Torresdey, J. (2020). Effect of copper compounds on two varieties of sweet potato plants. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 154: 277–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.06.009

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Steltzer, H., Sullivan, P. F., Segal, A., Koltz, A. M., Livensperger, C., Schimel, J. P., Weintraub, M. N. (2019). Limited effects of early snowmelt on plants, decomposers, and soil nutrients in Arctic tundra soils. Ecology and Evolution 9: 1820–1844. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4870

Livensperger, C., Steltzer, H., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Sullivan, P. F., Wallenstein, M., Weintraub, M. N. (2019). Experimentally warmer and drier conditions in an Arctic plant community reveal microclimatic controls on senescence. Ecosphere 10(4): e02677. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2677

Rudgers, J. A., Dettweiler-Robinson, E., Belnap, J., Green, L. E., Sinsabaugh, R. L., Young, K. E., Cort, C. E., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2018). Are fungal networks key to dryland primary production? American Journal of Botany 105: 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1184

Crain, G., McLaren, J., Brunner, B., Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2018). Biologically available phosphorus in biocrust-dominated soils of the Chihuahuan Desert. Soil Systems 2: 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems2040056

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Reed, S. C., Grote, E. E., Belnap, J. (2018). Patterns of longer-term climate change effects on CO₂ efflux from biocrusted soils differ from those observed in the short term. Biogeosciences 15: 4561–4573. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4561-2018

Tan, W., Du, W., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Hernandez-Viezcas, J., Ye, Y., Peralta-Videa, J. R., Gardea-Torresdey, J. L. (2018). Effects of the exposure of TiO₂ nanoparticles on basil (Ocimum basilicum) for two generations. Science of the Total Environment 636: 240–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.263

McLaren, J. R., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Weintraub, M. N., Gough, L. (2017). Seasonal patterns of soil nitrogen availability in moist acidic tundra. Arctic Science 4: 98–109. https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2017-0014

Reed, S. C., Maestre, F. T., Ochoa-Hueso, R., Kuske, C. R., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Oliver, M., Darby, B., Sancho, L. G., Sinsabaugh, R. L., Belnap, J. (2016). Biocrusts in the context of global change. In: Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands. Springer, pp. 451–476. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30214-0_22

Livensperger, C., Steltzer, H., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Sullivan, P. F., Wallenstein, M. D., Weintraub, M. N. (2016). Earlier snowmelt and warming lead to earlier but not necessarily more plant growth. AoB PLANTS 8. https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plw021

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Reed, S. C., Grote, E. E., Belnap, J. (2015). Observations of net soil exchange of CO₂ in a dryland show experimental warming increases carbon losses in biocrust soils. Biogeochemistry 126: 363–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0163-7

Melle, C. A., Wallenstein, M. D., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Weintraub, M. N. (2015). Microbial activity is not always limited by nitrogen in Arctic tundra soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 90: 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.07.023

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Weintraub, M. N. (2014). Evidence for spatially inaccessible labile N from a comparison of soil core extractions and soil pore water lysimetry. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 73: 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2014.02.010

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Ladd, M. P., Weintraub, M. N. (2013). Fluorescent microplate analysis of amino acids and other primary amines in soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 57: 78–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.07.017

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Erbland, J., Bowman, W. D., Savarino, J., Williams, M. W. (2011). Landscape-level nitrogen import and export in an ecosystem with complex terrain, Colorado Front Range. Biogeochemistry 109: 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9625-8

Lieb, A., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Bowman, W. D. (2011). Nitrogen deposition decreases buffering capacity of alpine soils in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Geoderma 164: 220–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2011.06.013

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Bowman, W. D. (2011). Hot spots of inorganic nitrogen availability in an alpine–subalpine ecosystem, Colorado Front Range. Ecosystems 14: 848–863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9450-x
(Includes description of the R package hotspots.)

Zhou, X., Luo, Y., Gao, C., Verburg, P. S. J., Arnone III, J. A., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Schimel, D. S. (2010). Concurrent and lagged impacts of an anomalously warm year on autotrophic and heterotrophic components of soil respiration: A deconvolution analysis. New Phytologist 187: 184–198. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03256.x

Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2010). Landscape heterogeneity of differently aged soil organic matter constituents at the forest–alpine tundra ecotone, Niwot Ridge, Colorado, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 42: 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-42.2.179

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., D’Antonio, C. M., Berlow, E. L. (2008). Effects of young Artemisia rothrockii shrubs on soil moisture, soil nitrogen cycling, and resident herbs. Journal of Vegetation Science 19: 23–30. https://doi.org/10.3170/2007-8-18311

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., D’Antonio, C. M., Dawson, T. E. (2006). Depth of water acquisition by invading shrubs and resident herbs in a Sierra Nevada meadow. Plant and Soil 285: 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-4453-z

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Hoopes, M. F., Walker, J. D., Briggs, C. J. (2006). Dispersal and foraging behavior of Platygaster californica: Hosts can’t run, but they can hide. Ecological Entomology 31: 298–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2006.00798.x

 

Invited Seminars and Workshops

2026. School of Life Sciences Seminar, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV.

2026. Department of Biology Seminar Series, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM.

2025. Jornada Basin LTER “Desert Discourse” seminar series.

2025. Biennial Conference of Science & Management on the Colorado Plateau & Southwest Region.

2020. Plant and Environmental Sciences Department Seminar, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.

2018. Biological Soil Crust Phosphorus Summit. International synthesis workshop, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.

2016. “Completing the dryland puzzle: Creating a predictive framework for biological soil crust function and response to climate change.” John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Fort Collins, CO.

2016. Biology Department Seminar, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.

2016. Ecology Center Monthly Seminar Series, Utah State University, Logan, UT.

2015. Department of Biology Seminar, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.

 

Other Publications

Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2016). Biogeochemistry on the Range: The Arising Researcher. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 97: 365–366. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1268

Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2008–2020). Anthony’s Science Blog. 174 posts on science-related topics. http://anthony.darrouzet-nardi.net/scienceblogarchive/

 

Data Products

Kukreja, K., and A. Darrouzet-Nardi. (2025). P availability data for samples across parent material, landform, and vegetation collected at Jornada Experimental Range. HydroShare. https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.54e6ba56bcd04e08b5fbc1e8cc96b27d

Cort, C. E., E. Stricker, G. M. Crain-Wright, and A. Darrouzet-Nardi. (2024). Rapid root to leaf uptake of inorganic and amino acid nitrogen in three dryland plant species. Version 1. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/097bea5883e97baf5109b3efb29b8e6f

Darrouzet-Nardi, A., and Dryland Critical Zone Project Team. (2022). Bajada Summer 2015 Soil Nutrients. HydroShare. https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.c6f91fd7407e4e038a27b487e2f8627f

 

Software

Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2013). hotspots: Identify statistically disproportionate hot spots. R package, Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=hotspots

 

Network Science Participation and Leadership

2025-present. CrustNet. PI Group; Steering Committee member.

2025-present. Jornada Basin LTER (JRN-8). Affiliated Investigator.

2020-present. Dryland Critical Zone Collaborative Network. PI Group and leadership roles including network assembly, project coordination and management, speaker series, and data management; oversight of 27 data products.

2016-2019. BIODESERT Network. Participant. Site: Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas.

 

Media

Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2025). Interview by Iris García-Barrón. “Saving El Paso Trees.” ABC-7 Noon News, KVIA-TV, 27 June 2025.

Darrouzet-Nardi, A. (2019). Interview by Science Moab. “How Carbon Moves Through the Desert.” Science Moab, 2 March 2019. https://sciencemoab.org/carbon

 

Mentorship

6 Ph.D. dissertations advised; 23 Ph.D. students served as committee member

5 M.S. theses advised; 12 M.S. students served as committee member

39 undergraduate researchers

 

Ph.D. dissertations advised

Cort, Catherine. “Investigating the roles of plants, fungi, and biocrusts in nutrient movement within dryland ecosystems” (2024). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 3964. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/3964/

Martinez, Jane Karen. “Linking Decomposition Reactions In Arctic Soils To Microbial Enzyme Production” (2023). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 3821. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/3821

Young, Kristina. “Restoring biogeochemical properties in drylands and exploring functional roles of biological soil crust” (2021). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 3374. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/3374

 

M.S. theses advised

Dacey, Lindsey. “Water Sufficiency For Organismal Function In Dryland Critical Zones” (2024). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 4083. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/4083/

Salcido, Briana Alyce. “Temporal Trends In Dryland Soil Carbon Fluxes In Response To Artificial And Natural Pulsed Moisture Events” (2023). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 3849. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/3849

Orona, Viridiana. “Characterizing Spatial Variability In Soil CO₂ Fluxes In The Chihuahuan Desert Using Geostatistical Techniques” (2023). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 3837. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/3837

Lara, Alejandro. “Reconciling Carbon Flux Discrepancies In A Desert Environment: Characterizing Influences Of Soil Processes Using Automated CO₂ Flux Chambers” (2020). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 3103. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/3103

Crain, Grace Margaret. “Biologically Available Phosphorus In Biocrust-Dominated Soils Of The Chihuahuan Desert” (2018). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 1415. https://scholarworks.utep.edu/open_etd/1415

 

Teaching

BIOL 1306. Organismal Biology (second half of introductory biology). Taught 12 times, Fall 2015 – Spring 2025. 65–170 students.

BIOL 5301 / BIOL 4395. Soil Ecology. Taught 5 times: Spring 2015 – Fall 2024. 15–35 students.

BIOL 3192. Professional Development. Taught 12 times, Fall 2017 – Fall 2024. 30–60 students.

BIOL 5301 / BIOL 6321. Scientific Visualization. Taught 3 times, Spring 2018 – Spring 2024. 20–30 students.

BIOL 5327. Advances in Ecological Theory. Taught 3 times, Fall 2019 – Fall 2023. 12–20 students.

 

Curriculum Development and Course Design

2025. Scientific Visualization. Formalized as a catalog-listed graduate course at UTEP, replacing prior special topics offerings (BIOL 5333 / BIOL 6333).

2025. Soil Ecology. Formalized as a catalog-listed upper-division and graduate course with laboratory component at UTEP, replacing prior special topics offerings (BIOL 4318 / BIOL 5318 / BIOL 6318).

2019-2021. Participant, Personalized Learning Consortium (PLC), Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). Faculty working group on adaptive courseware (CogBooks), integration, and course redesign for the BIOL 1305/1306 introductory biology sequence at UTEP.

 

Professional Service

Journal article peer review. Acta Ecologica Sinica; Agricultural and Forest Meteorology; Applications in Plant Sciences; Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research; Biogeochemistry (reviewer award in 2017); Biogeosciences (EGU); Biology and Fertility of Soils; Ecological Applications; Ecological Complexity; Ecosphere; Ecosystems; Elementa; Functional Ecology; Geoderma; Global Change Biology; Global Ecology and Biogeography; Journal of Arid Environments; Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences; Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science; Journal of Soils and Sediments; Nature Communications; New Phytologist; Plant and Soil; Plant Ecology and Diversity; PLOS One; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; Rangeland Ecology and Management; Science of the Total Environment; Soil Biology and Biochemistry; Western North American Naturalist; South African Journal of Botany.

2017–2021. Associate Editor, Plant Ecology and Diversity. Handled 14 manuscripts.

2014–2025. Grant review: panelist and ad hoc reviewer for the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.

Student poster judge: Ecological Society of America; Soil Ecology Society; American Geophysical Union.

2010–2015. Webmaster and email list moderator, Ecological Society of America Biogeosciences Section.

 

Professional Affiliations

Ecological Society of America (2001–present)

American Geophysical Union (2006–present)

Soil Ecology Society (2015–present)

 

Community Service

2007-2010. Board of Directors, Boulder Housing Coalition.

1999, 2002-2003. Counselor, Youth in Science, San Jose State University.

1998. Summer. Volunteer Park Ranger (Volunteers-In-Parks). Hovenweep National Monument, Utah.

 

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