ELCOME to the Darrouzet-Nardi Lab homepage! My lab
studies ecosystem ecology with the goal of exploring the complex interactions among living organisms and their
Earth surface environments. Our research centers on soil ecosystems, ranging from microscale investigations of
the the soil matrix to ecological interactions among plants and microbes to landscape-level elemental cycling.
All of our projects are field-based, often part of ecological site networks or distributed experiments, and
aim to generate basic knowledge about Earth's ecosystems and inform sustainable management of our changing
planet.
GRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
The 2026 graduate application season is now concluded, but new opportunities will arise next year, and I am always interested in talking to students who may be a good fit. Students in my lab gain hands-on experience with advanced soil and plant instrumentation (e.g., soil sensors, isotopes, gas exchange systems, soil chemical analysis, cutting edge omics techniques, and much more), fieldwork in desert and mountain ecosystems, and collaborations that open doors to global research careers. See here for my prospective student page.
CURRENT WORK
Our lab’s newest project is CrustNet, a global effort to understand the biodiversity, functional traits, and ecosystem roles of biological soil crusts (biocrusts). Earlier projects include an NSF-funded test of the fungal loop hypothesis and our role in the Dryland Critical Zone project investigating carbon, water, and nutrient cycling. These provide the foundation for our current and future focus on dryland soil biogeochemistry and global change. Read more about ongoing projects here.
MORE INFO
I am an associate professor at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the Biological Sciences department, and part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program (EEB). See my Google Scholar Page, and CV to learn more about my research interests.
I occasionally post updates and lab news on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
Contact information:
Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
500 W. University Ave.
University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX 79968
ajdarrouzetnardi@utep.edu
915-747-6994 (office)
Office: Biology B401
Lab: Biology B419
Pronunciation of Darrouzet: DARE-uh-ZET.
Pronouns: he/him/his