Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 1, 2025

Single-throughput Complementary High-resolution Analytical Techniques for Characterizing Complex Natural Organic Matter Mixtures
Published on: January 7, 2019
Organic Matter Degradation across Ecosystem Boundaries: The Need for a Unified Conceptualization
Dolly N Kothawala1, Anne M Kellerman2, Núria Catalán3
1Limnology/Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen18D, Uppsala 75236, Sweden.
Abstract:
The global carbon cycle connects organic matter (OM) pools in soil, freshwater, and marine ecosystems with the atmosphere, thereby regulating their size and reactivity. Due to the complexity of biogeochemical processes and historically compartmentalized disciplines, ecosystem-specific conceptualizations of OM degradation have emerged independently of developments in other ecosystems. Recent discussions regarding the relative importance of molecular composition and ecosystem properties on OM degradation have diverged in opposing directions across subdisciplines, leaving our understanding inconsistent. Ecosystem-dependent theories are problematic since properties unique to an ecosystem may change in response to anthropogenic stressors, including climate change. The next breakthrough in our understanding of OM degradation requires a shift in focus towards developing a unified theory of controls on OM across ecosystems.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
What are Biogeochemical Cycles?
Environmental Applications of Microorganisms
The Soil Ecosystem
Overview of Nitrogen Metabolism
The largest pool of nitrogen available in the terrestrial ecosystem is gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air, but this...
Bioremediation
Levels of Organization
Molecules Are Composed of Atoms, and Biomolecules Are Assembled from Molecules:
The most basic levels include atoms, molecules, and biomolecules. Atoms, the smallest unit of ordinary matter, are composed of a nucleus and electrons. Molecules...

