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Long‐term decomposition of DOC from experimental diatom blooms
Author(s) -
Fry Brian,
Hopkinson Charles S.,
Nolin Amy,
Norrman Bosse,
Zweifel Ulla Li
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1996.41.6.1344
Subject(s) - diatom , dissolved organic carbon , decomposition , environmental chemistry , bloom , nutrient , mineralization (soil science) , algal bloom , tracer , chemistry , carbon cycle , oceanography , phytoplankton , ecology , geology , biology , ecosystem , nitrogen , physics , organic chemistry , nuclear physics
Decomposition of 13 C‐labeled dissolved organic carbon (DOC) produced in two marine diatom blooms was followed for 2.5 yr with large volume (20 liter) incubations performed in the dark. The 13 C tracer was used to partition decomposition dynamics of the fresh diatom‐derived DOC and the turnover of background DOC from Woods Hole Harbor. DOC from Woods Hole Harbor proved largely refractory, with DOC concentrations falling from 122 to ∼100 µ M C in 2.5 yr. DOC from the diatom blooms was more labile, but was also incompletely mineralized, with 25–35% remaining after 2.5 yr. Neither nutrients nor labile carbon (dextrose) added at 1.5 yr significantly stimulated DOC mineralization. The experiments indicate that DOC produced in short‐term blooms can be surprisingly resistant to microbial attack.