Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Source Of Terrestrial Organic Carbon To Investigate The Browning Of Aquatic Ecosystems, Jay T. Lennon, Stephen K. Hamilton, Mario E. Muscarella, A. Stuart Grandy, Kyle Wickings, Stuart E. Jones

Faculty Publications

There is growing evidence that terrestrial ecosystems are exporting more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to aquatic ecosystems than they did just a few decades ago. This “browning” phenomenon will alter the chemistry, physics, and biology of inland water bodies in complex and difficult-to-predict ways. Experiments provide an opportunity to elucidate how browning will affect the stability and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. However, it is challenging to obtain sources of DOC that can be used for manipulations at ecologically relevant scales. In this study, we evaluated a commercially available source of humic substances (“Super Hume”) as an analog for natural sources …