The Good and the Bad of Altering the Global Nitrogen Cycle

Fobes Ronald Lecture in Environmental Conservation

Nitrogen is a major building block of all life on Earth but throughout history, has been a major limiting nutrient for the growth of plants and animals. This changed in the 20^th century with the industrial manufacture of nitrogen fertilizer. The Green Revolution, stimulated by synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, has increased human quality of life and stimulated population increases worldwide, but it comes at a great cost to the environment. In this lecture, Dr. Baron will describe the impacts of nitrogen pollution on air, water, climate, and ecological resources, and share examples of how we can continue to reap the benefits of nitrogen for humanity while reducing the damage.

Jill S. Baron is a Senior Research Scientist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University. She retired from the U.S. Geological Survey in 2025, where she was a Senior Scientist specializing in ecosystem ecology. Her interests include applying ecosystem concepts to the management of human-dominated regions and understanding the biogeochemical and ecological effects of atmospheric deposition and climate change on mountain ecosystems. She serves on the project management board of the International Nitrogen Management System, a program that brings together the science community, the private sector, and civil society to gather and synthesize evidence that can support international policy development to improve global nitrogen management. Baron is the founder and Co-Director of the John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis. She is also the founder and Principal Investigator of the Loch Vale Watershed long-term monitoring and research program in Rocky Mountain National Park, which, since 1983, seeks to understand the ecological and biogeochemical implications of atmospheric deposition and climate change. Baron was President of the Ecological Society of America in 2014 and is a Certified Senior Ecologist. She is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. Dr. Baron received her Ph.D. from Colorado State University in 1991 and has undergraduate and master’s degrees from Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin.

This lecture will be recorded and ready to view on the Available Recordings page approximately 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the event. The recording will only be available for three weeks from the date of the lecture.