• Fernandez, Ivan
  University of Maine
  
• Sanclements, Michael
  University of Colorado
  

Over the last two decades, concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM), also referred to as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), have increased significantly throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, including the northeastern U.S. Dissolved organic matter is ubiquitous in soil solutions and natural waters; is critical to ecological processes, including soil formation and carbon sequestration; and acts as a vector for stream export of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and metals in temperate ecosystems. Changes in DOM movement and characteristics in forest ecosystems are ecologically significant but the consequences of these changes are poorly understood.