Dissolved Natural Organic Matter (DNOM) is a mixture of partly degraded, oxidised and resynthesised organic compounds of terrestrial or aquatic origin. In the boreal areas, DNOM plays a central role in element cycling and practically all biogeochemical processes governing the physicochemistry of surface waters. Several projects at CBA focus on understanding these processes better.
In this new paper, chemistry PhD student Camille Crapart and CBA colleagues focused on the biodegradability of DNOM in surface water. One reason why this is important is because of the role it plays in microbial respiration. The study sampled a set of lakes in southeastern Norway.
They found that the biodegradability of DNOM in these lakes was mainly governed by their molecular size and aromaticity, in addition to its ration between carbon and nitrogen. The duration of the first phase of rapid biodegradation of the DNOM was found to be higher in lakes with a mixture of autochthonous and allochthonous DNOM.