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Several factors highlight the importance of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in coastal ecosystems such as the Baltic Sea: 1) DOM is the main energy source for heterotrophic bacteria in surface waters, thus contributing to the productivity and trophic state of bodies of water. 2) DOM functions as a nutrient source: in the Baltic Sea, more than one-fourth of the bioavailable nutrients can occur in the dissolved organic form in riverine inputs and in surface water during summer. Thus, DOM also supports primary production, both directly (osmotrophy) and indirectly (via remineralization). 3) Flocculation and subsequent deposition of terrestrial DOM within river estuaries may contribute to production and oxygen consumption in coastal sediments. 4) Chromophoric DOM, which is one of the major absorbers of light entering the Baltic Sea, contributes highly to water color, thus affecting the photosynthetic depth as well as recreational value of the Baltic Sea. Despite its large-scale importance to the Baltic Sea ecosystem, DOM has been of minor interest compared with inorganic nutrient loadings. Information on the concentrations and dynamics of DOM in the Baltic Sea has accumulated since the late 1990s, but it is still sporadic. This review provides a coherent view of the current understanding of DOM dynamics in the Baltic Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the phytoplankton growth season, the vertical distributions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON) and phosphorus (DOP) were followed biweekly along with key physical, chemical and biological variables on a shore-to-open-sea salinity gradient in the Gulf of Finland. Moreover, bioavailable shares of DOC and DON were evaluated with natural bacterial surface and deepwater samples. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) accumulated in the surface layer throughout the productive season, and the accumulated DOM was N-rich (molar C:N ratio of 10) compared to the bulk DOM pool (C:N 20–29). Redundancy analysis showed a negative correlation between phytoplankton and DOM concentrations, suggesting that most DOM release occurred during declining phases of spring and late summer algal blooms. During the spring bloom, bioavailable shares of DOM were small, whereas during and after the late summer bloom of filamentous cyanobacteria, 3–9% and 10–20% of the respective total DOC and DON pools were degraded by bacteria within 2 weeks. Vertical mixing over the thermocline was estimated by constructing a steady state budget for water and salt mass flows between key GoF basin compartments (inflows equal outflows). The flow estimates suggested that the net changes in surface DOC and DON pools underestimated the respective total accumulations by ca 40% and 20%, respectively, over the 4-mo thermal stratification period. Thus, integral export of surface DOC and DON after autumn overturn amounted to ca 710mmolCm−2 and 40mmolNm−2, corresponding respectively to ca 12–25% and 11% of reported annual particulate organic carbon and nitrogen sedimentation in our study area. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on the response of the nitrogen (N)-limited hetero- and autotrophic plankton of the Baltic Sea to photoproduced N and labile dissolved organic matter (DOM). The researchers conducted the study in the coastal northern Baltic Sea at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, wherein the usual seasonal succession of plankton includes a vernal bloom dominated by dinoflagellates and diatoms. They found that photoproduced N is retained in the plankton community under N-limiting conditions not like the photoproduced dissolved organic carbon (DOC) with high respiratory losses.

The effects of inorganic nutrient (N and P) and glucose C treatments on bacterial growth were followed for 3 days in natural surface and deep water bacterial samples during the main post-spring bloom stages of phytoplankton growth in the northern Baltic Sea. In addition, the importance of photochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter on bacterial growth was investigated vertically (0.1-2.0 m) and spatially, in a salinity gradient from river mouth to open sea. Bacterial production was consistently C limited in the surface layer, with N or both N and P as the secondary limiting nutrients from spring to early summer and in late summer, respectively. In deep water, bacterial growth showed combined temperature and C limitation, and in spring, this also appeared to be true with surface samples. The effect of I-day sunlight pre- treatment varied from no effect up to a 44% production increase, with clear bacterial production responses only being seen at the surface (10 cm depth). The implications of bacterial C limitation for the structure and function of the surface plankton ecosystem, including its CO2 exchange with the atmosphere are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]