Jill S Baron, PhD
Dr. Jill Baron is a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and a Senior Research Ecologist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University.
Jill Baron is founder and Co-Director of the John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis. She was the North American Director of the International Nitrogen Initiative 2014-2019 and is Co-Lead for Component 1 (Tools and methods for understanding the nitrogen cycle) of the International Nitrogen Management System. Baron was President of the Ecological Society of America in 2014, is a Certified Professional Ecologist, and a Fellow of the ESA and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
She was named a Woman of Vision in 2015 by Colorado Women of Influence for her work advancing women’s role in science. Baron has been active in US National Climate Assessment efforts, has given testimony to Congress on western acid rain and climate change issues, and serves on a National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Assessing Causality from a Multidisciplinary Evidence Base for National Ambient Air Quality Standards. She is founder and Principal Investigator of the Loch Vale Watershed long-term ecological monitoring and research program in Rocky Mountain National Park, an instrumented catchment that in 2022 will celebrate 40 years of continuous records.
Professional Experience
2009-present Co-Director, John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis
2016-present Senior Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins CO
1996-2015 Research Ecologist; U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO
1986-present Senior Research Scientist; Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
2000-present Advising faculty, CSU Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
1993-1996 Research Ecologist; National Biological Service, Mountain Ecosystems Section, Fort Collins, CO
1976-1993 Research Biologist-National Park Service; Great Smoky Mountains National Park TN; Gulf Islands National Seashore MS; Water Resources Division, Washington D.C. and CO
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Ecosystem Ecology, Colorado State University, 1991
M.S. Land Resources, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1979
B.S. Plant Sciences, Cornell University, 1976
Affiliations and Memberships*
Present: Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Senior Scientist
Present: Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Advising Faculty
Present: Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Faculty Affiliate
Science and Products
Synthesis: Chapter 19
A Natural Resource Condition Assessment for Rocky Mountain National Park
DayCent-Chem simulations of ecological and biogeochemical processes of eight mountain ecosystems in the United States
Adaptation strategies for public land managers to climate change
Historical and modern disturbance regimes, stand structures, and landscape dynamics in piñon-juniper vegetation of the western United States
Climate-induced changes in high elevation stream nitrate dynamics
Nutrient availability and phytoplankton nutrient limitation across a gradient of atmospheric nitrogen deposition
Options for national parks and reserves for adapting to climate change
Shifts in lake N: P stoichiometry and nutrient limitation driven by atmospheric nitrogen deposition
Western Mountain Initiative: predicting ecosystem responses to climate change
Spatial patterns of simulated transpiration response to climate variability in a snow dominated mountain ecosystem
National parks: Chapter 4
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 212
Synthesis: Chapter 19
Human activity in the last century has led to a substantial increase in nitrogen (N) emissions and deposition (Galloway et al. 2003). Because of past, and, in some regions, continuing increases in emissions (Lehmann et al. 2005, Nilles and Conley 2001), this N deposition has reached a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations and damage in many ecosystems across the United States. InAuthorsL.H. Pardo, L.H. Geiser, M.E. Fenn, C. T. Driscoll, C.L. Goodale, E.B. Allen, Jill Baron, R. Bobbink, W.D. Bowman, C.M. Clark, B. Emmett, F.S. Gilliam, T. Greaver, S.J. Hall, E.A. Lilleskov, L. Liu, J.A. Lynch, K. Nadelhoffer, S.S. Perakis, M. J. Robin-Abbott, J.L. Stoddard, K. C. WeathersA Natural Resource Condition Assessment for Rocky Mountain National Park
We conducted a natural resource assessment of Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) to provide a synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge to address the current conditions for a subset of important park natural resources. The intent is for this report to help provide park resource managers with data and information, particularly in the form of spatially-explicit maps and GIS databases, abAuthorsD.M. Theobald, Jill Baron, P. Newman, B. Noon, J. B. Norman, I. Leinwand, S.E. Linn, R. Sherer, K.E. Williams, M. HartmanDayCent-Chem simulations of ecological and biogeochemical processes of eight mountain ecosystems in the United States
Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) cause complex responses in ecosystems, from fertilization to forest ecosystem decline, freshwater eutrophication to acidification, loss of soil base cations, and alterations of disturbance regimes. DayCent-Chem, an ecosystem simulation model that combines ecosystem nutrient cycling and plant dynamics with aqueous geochemical equilibrium calculaAuthorsMelannie D. Hartman, Jill S. Baron, David W. Clow, Irena F. Creed, Charles T. Driscoll, Holly A. Ewing, Bruce D. Haines, Jennifer Knoepp, Kate Lajtha, Dennis S. Ojima, William J. Parton, Jim Renfro, R. Bruce Robinson, Helga Van Miegroet, Kathleen C. Weathers, Mark W. WilliamsAdaptation strategies for public land managers to climate change
No abstract available.AuthorsJill BaronHistorical and modern disturbance regimes, stand structures, and landscape dynamics in piñon-juniper vegetation of the western United States
Piñon–juniper is a major vegetation type in western North America. Effective management of these ecosystems has been hindered by inadequate understanding of 1) the variability in ecosystem structure and ecological processes that exists among the diverse combinations of piñons, junipers, and associated shrubs, herbs, and soil organisms; 2) the prehistoric and historic disturbance regimes; and 3) thAuthorsWilliam H. Romme, Craig D. Allen, John D. Bailey, William L. Baker, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Peter M. Brown, Karen S. Eisenhart, M. Lisa Floyd, David W. Huffman, Brian F. Jacobs, Richard F. Miller, Esteban H. Muldavin, Thomas W. Swetnam, Robin J. Tausch, Peter J. WeisbergClimate-induced changes in high elevation stream nitrate dynamics
Mountain terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are responsive to external drivers of change, especially climate change and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N). We explored the consequences of a temperature-warming trend on stream nitrate in an alpine and subalpine watershed in the Colorado Front Range that has long been the recipient of elevated atmospheric N deposition. Mean annual stream nitrateAuthorsJill Baron, T.M. Schmidt, M.D. HartmanNutrient availability and phytoplankton nutrient limitation across a gradient of atmospheric nitrogen deposition
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition to lakes and watersheds has been increasing steadily due to various anthropogenic activities. Because such anthropogenic N is widely distributed, even lakes relatively removed from direct human disturbance are potentially impacted. However, the effects of increased atmospheric N deposition on lakes are not well documented, We examined phytoplankton biomass, theAuthorsJ.J. Elser, M. Kyle, L. Steuer, K. R. Nydick, Jill BaronOptions for national parks and reserves for adapting to climate change
Past and present climate has shaped the valued ecosystems currently protected in parks and reserves, but future climate change will redefine these conditions. Continued conservation as climate changes will require thinking differently about resource management than we have in the past; we present some logical steps and tools for doing so. Three critical tenets underpin future management plans andAuthorsJill S. Baron, Lance Gunderson, Craig D. Allen, Erica Fleishman, Donald McKenzie, Laura A. Meyerson, Jill Oropeza, Nathan L. StephensonShifts in lake N: P stoichiometry and nutrient limitation driven by atmospheric nitrogen deposition
Human activities have more than doubled the amount of nitrogen (N) circulating in the biosphere. One major pathway of this anthropogenic N input into ecosystems has been increased regional deposition from the atmosphere. Here we show that atmospheric N deposition increased the stoichiometric ratio of N and phosphorus (P) in lakes in Norway, Sweden, and Colorado, United States, and, as a result, paAuthorsJ.J. Elser, T. Andersen, Jill Baron, A.-K. Bergstrom, M. Jansson, M. Kyle, K. R. Nydick, L. Steger, D.O. HessenWestern Mountain Initiative: predicting ecosystem responses to climate change
Mountain ecosystems of the western United States provide irreplaceable goods and services such as water, timber, biodiversity, and recreational opportunities, but their responses to climatic changes are complex and not well understood. The Western Mountain Initiative (WMI), a collaboration between USGS and U.S. Forest Service scientists, catalyzes assessment and synthesis of the effects of disturbAuthorsJill S. Baron, David L. Peterson, J.T. WilsonSpatial patterns of simulated transpiration response to climate variability in a snow dominated mountain ecosystem
Transpiration is an important component of soil water storage and stream-flow and is linked with ecosystem productivity, species distribution, and ecosystem health. In mountain environments, complex topography creates heterogeneity in key controls on transpiration as well as logistical challenges for collecting representative measurements. In these settings, ecosystem models can be used to accountAuthorsL. Christensen, C.L. Tague, Jill BaronNational parks: Chapter 4
Covering about 4% of the United States, the 338,000 km² of protected areas in the National Park System contain representative landscapes of all of the nation’s biomes and ecosystems. The U.S. National Park Service Organic Act established the National Park System in 1916 “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the sAuthorsJill S. Baron, Craig D. Allen, Erica Fleishman, Lance Gunderson, Don McKenzie, Laura A. Meyerson, Jill Oropeza, Nathan L. Stephenson - Science
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government