Toward an ecologically meaningful view of resource stoichiometry in DOM-dominated aquatic systems.

Research on nutrient controls of planktonic productivity tends to focus on a few standard fractions of inorganic or total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). However, there is a wide range in the degree to which land-derived dissolved organic nutrients can be assimilated by biota. Thus, in systems where such fractions form a majority of the macronutrient resource pool, including many boreal inland waters and estuaries, our understanding of bacterio- and phytoplankton production dynamics remains limited.