Hydrology and Trophic Status Control Lake Dissolved Organic Matter Concentration and Composition at a Continental Scale

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a key component of the lake biogeochemistry. Hydrology link variables influencing lake DOM at local and watershed scales, but its role at macroscales remains less understood. We studied the DOM concentration and composition from 548 lakes across the five major Canadian continental basins using absorption spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis, and ultra‐high resolution mass spectroscopy, and linked this to deuterium excess (d‐excess), derived from stable water isotopes as a proxy for evaporation, water residence time, and regional hydrology. DOM concentration and composition varied greatly within and across basins, with strong correlations between molecular and optical properties. At a continental scale, d‐excess and TP concentration were the main drivers of DOM concentration and composition. TP positively influenced DOM concentration, and specific DOM components (e.g., Aliphatics), suggesting nutrient‐driven effects on lake metabolism that varied regionally. DOM concentration declined with d‐excess, but the relationships between individual DOM molecular composition classes and d‐excess differed among components and basins, resulting in regional differences in DOM composition along hydrologic gradients. The inferred source composition DOM based on these patterns had subtle regional differences, with Aliphatics related to the average regional altitude and Aromatics related to the average regional soil organic content. We show that DOM processing along the hydrologic continuum is the key factor establishing differences in DOM composition in lakes at a continental scale. Overall, TP influenced DOM through effects on primary production and metabolism, whereas d‐excess integrated the selective degradation and accumulation of DOM along the aquatic network.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Global Biogeochemical Cycles

• Publication date

  2025-11-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1029/2025GB008644
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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