Allochthonous organic carbon ocean

In this chapter, we develop a simple model that predicts the maximum possible heterotrophic organic N formation as a function of the importance of allochthonous carbon inputs. We then review data from the literature on the relative importance of heterotrophic organic N formation in aquatic systems. This material is presented in a landscape context, following a flow path of organic matter from streams to the open ocean. We consider a variety of evidence to look at heterotrophic organic N formation, including enhancement of decomposition by N additions and ecosystem budgets. We rely, however, primarily on data from 15N addition studies to quantify the... 

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