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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Modelling the Impacts of Climate Change on Dissolved Organic Carbon

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Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from peat soils has implications both for the ecology of receiving waters and for the quality and treatment costs of water used for human consumption. Fluxes of DOC from peat soils are also relevant in the context of the global carbon cycle. Chapter 12 in this volume has reviewed the evidence for the effects of different environmental factors on the decomposition of peat soils and the export of DOC, drawing on literature and long-term data acquired from a number of European sites. The conclusion from this and many other studies is that, although there may be other influences such as land management and recovery from acid deposition, climate factors are a major player in both the short-term variability and longer-term trends seen in measured DOC concentrations and fluxes. Given the importance of DOC and likely future changes in climate, it is timely and opportune to make use of our current understanding to project possible future DOC.