"The health and proper functioning of aquatic ecosystems depends in part on the abundance and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM). The fluxes and pulses of organic matter influences practically every aspect of stream ecology, biogeochemistry, and productivity. Aquatic Ecosystems addresses crucial questions emerging from the latest research on DOM.

Overviews of the source, supply and variability of DOM, surveys of the processes that mediate inputs to microbial food webs, and syntheses consolidating research findings provide a comprehensive review of what is known of DOM in freshwater. This book will be important to anyone interested in understanding the fundamental factors associated with DOM that control aquatic ecosystems."--BOOK JACKET.