The study of carbon in inland waters-from isolated ecosystems to players in the global carbon cycle

• This essay describes the evolution of our understanding of the carbon cycle of inland waters. Research has evolved from studies of individual lakes with limited attention to the surrounding landscapes, to a focus on how lakes are affected by external factors such as import of organic matter from the watershed, thereafter increasingly addressing how inland waters impact the carbon cycle beyond their own limits, for example by emission of gases to the atmosphere. Major steps are described toward the now widely applied concept of the aquatic “active pipe,” and the development of global quantification of inland water carbon cycling. Despite the great progress in understanding of the carbon cycle during the last decades, we argue that there is still a need for better integration of inland waters with other habitats in studies of carbon biogeochemistry.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)