Rate My Professor Jim Ansley

R. James (Jim) Ansley is a professor and former Department Head of the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Oklahoma State University. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Hastings College in Nebraska, a Master of Science degree in range science from Utah State University, and a Ph.D. in agronomy from the University of Wyoming in 1983. Immediately after completing his doctorate, Ansley began a 32-year career with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in the Texas A&M AgriLife Research system, where he received four promotions and was named a Regents Professor.

In March 2016, Ansley joined Oklahoma State University as Head of the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, serving until his retirement in early 2026. His research specializations include plant ecology, rangeland management, woody plant invasion of grasslands, fire ecology, and rangeland shrubs for bioenergy, with a focus on the southern Great Plains. Notable publications encompass 'Net changes in regional woody vegetation cover and carbon storage in Texas drylands, 1937–1999' (Global Change Biology, 2003), 'Changes in aboveground primary production and carbon and nitrogen pools accompanying woody plant encroachment in a temperate savanna' (Global Change Biology, 2006), 'Invasion promotes invasion: Facilitation of C3 perennial grass dominance in mixed C3/C4 grassland by an invasive C3 woody sprouter (Prosopis glandulosa)' (2019), 'Can prescribed fires restore C4 grasslands invaded by a C3 woody species and a co-dominant C3 grass species?' (2021), and 'Pyric-based restoration of C4 grasses in woody (Prosopis glandulosa) encroached grassland is best with an alternating seasonal fire regime' (Restoration Ecology, 2022). Ansley's work has significantly influenced rangeland restoration practices, vegetation dynamics, and bioenergy applications through his leadership and extensive scholarly output.