Rate My Professor Joshua Leffler

Joshua Leffler serves as Assistant Department Head and Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota State University, part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. He received a B.S. in biology from the University of Utah in 1994 and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of New Mexico in 1999. Before joining South Dakota State University as Assistant Professor in 2015, Leffler worked as a research associate at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Forage and Range Research Laboratory. His academic career emphasizes plant physiological ecology and ecosystem ecology, focusing on arid lands, grasslands, and arctic systems. Leffler's research investigates the effects of climate change components, including warming and altered precipitation patterns, on plant communities and greenhouse gas emissions. He explores whether these factors amplify or dampen climate consequences and assesses the impacts of diverse grazing technologies and schemes on carbon and nitrogen processes in rangelands.

Leffler's specific research interests encompass green-up and grazing phenology influences on ecosystem processes in Western Alaska, future forage value of North Slope tundra for caribou, and carbon exchange and grazing in mixed-grass prairie. Notable publications include 'A New Perspective on Trait Differences Between Native and Invasive Exotic Plants' (2014), 'Temperature and Functional Traits Influence Differences in Nitrogen Uptake Capacity Between Native and Invasive Grasses' (2013), and 'Conceptualizing ecological restoration: a concise and adaptable framework for researchers and practitioners' (2018, co-authored with Lora Perkins, recipient of the Bradshaw Medal from the Society for Ecological Restoration). He holds positions as Associate Editor for Plant Ecology and Bioscience and is a member of the Ecological Society of America, Society for Range Management, and American Geophysical Union. Leffler teaches EES275 Introduction to Environmental Science, RANG321 Wildland Ecosystems, and NRM464/564 Ecosystem Ecology.