Our lab works to better understand how soil microorganisms function and interact with plants across a variety of semi-arid ecosystems to ultimately influence key ecosystem characteristics and processes that influence nutrient cycles, water storage and movement, climate impact, and plant productivity.
As principal agents of nutrient cycling, soil microbial communities play a critical role in ecosystem function and soil quality. The Slaughter Soil Ecology Lab investigates how soil microbial community structure, function, and interactions with other biota affect and are affected by environmental disturbance, such as water and nutrient scarcity or urban development and runoff, and agricultural management conditions, such as grazing and crop production practices.
Our research group employs methods which assess carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions, microbial biomass and community structure, and delivery of critical ecosystem services such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. We also frequently targets the response of specific microbes associated with drought resistance and improved soil physical properties, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), through microscopy and biochemical analyses.
Some research questions we address are:
Please email Dr. Lindsey Slaughter (lindsey.slaughter@ttu.edu) if you would like a PDF copy of an article.
Lindsey C. Slaughter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Soil Microbial Ecology & Biochemistry
A primary goal of Dr. Slaughter’s research is to inform management decisions in semi-arid systems that lead to greater soil health and ecosystem function through a better ecological understanding of plant-microbe-soil symbioses and interactions. She teaches courses on Principles & Practices in Soils and Soil Microbial Ecology.
February | Ph.D. students Raavi Arora and Marina Scalioni Vilela both won 3rd place in the graduate student oral presentation session at the 2023 Soil Survey and Land Resource Workshop hosted by NRCS and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension in Bryan, TX. Congratulations, Raavi and Marina!
August | Amanda Flausino de Faria, a Ph.D. student at at the Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) in Brazil, just arrived to join the lab for a one-year sandwich Ph.D. program. Welcome Amanda!
June | Maria Scalioni Vilela, a Ph.D. student at the Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) in Brazil, just arrived to join the lab for a one-year sandwich Ph.D. program. Welcome, Marina!
April | Congratulations to PhD student Raavi Arora for winning 3rd place for her oral presentation in the annual PSS Student Research Symposium hosted by the TTU Department of Plant and Soil Science!
September | Welcome to our newest team member, Dr. Flavio Henrique Vasconcelos de Medeiros! Dr. Medeiros is an Associate Professor of Plant Pathology at the Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. He and Dr. Fernanda Medeiros will be joining TTU for a one-year sabbatical starting this month.
August | Raavi Arora (MS, Punjab Agricultural University, India) just joined the team as a Ph.D. student this month. Welcome, Raavi!
April | Congratulations to PhD student Billi Jean Petermann for winning 1st place in the annual PSS Student Research Symposium hosted by the TTU Department of Plant and Soil Science! Billi Jean presented her research titled "Biological Soil Crusts and Conservation Agriculture Soils".
February | Congratulations to undergraduate lab member Jonathan Peters for receiving the Professional Soil Scientists Association of Texas (PSSAT) 2020-2021 Scholarship!
November | Congratulations to undergraduate lab member Hazzel Ramos for winning 1st place in the undergraduate Soils and Soil Quality division poster competition at this year's virtual ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings! Hazzel presented her research titled "Success of Commercial Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculum in Colonizing Cotton Roots".
June | Welcome to our summer intern, Dariam Marte de Jesus! Dariam is an undergraduate student from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez.
May | Rael successfully defended her thesis and will soon be starting her Ph.D. program at Ohio University. Congratulations, Rael!
January | Rael and Meagan attended the SSSA meetings in San Antonio, and won 2nd and 3rd places in their respective graduate student competitions. Great job, you two!
August | Billi Jean Petermann (B.S. Dickinson State University) joined the lab as a Ph.D. student. Welcome, Billi Jean!
August | Meagan Riley (B.S. Texas Tech University) joined the lab as an M.S. student. Welcome, Meagan!
January | Rael Otuya (B.S. University of Wyoming) joined the team as the first graduate student in our lab to pursue her M.S. degree. Welcome, Rael!
If you have an interest in hearing about potential openings in the Soil Ecology Lab, please contact Dr. Slaughter.
Associate Professor Soil Microbial Ecology & Biochemistry
Texas Tech University
Dept. of Plant and Soil Science
lindsey.slaughter@ttu.edu
(806) 834-1345
Bayer Plant Science, Room 201
2911 15th Street
Lubbock, TX 79409