Quantitative and qualitative aspects of dissolved organic carbon leached from plant biomass in Taylor Slough, Shark River and Florida Bay (FCE) for samples collected in July 2004

Plant biomass was collected from Taylor Slough, Shark River and Florida Bay in Everglades National Park. Samples were taken to the lab and incubated with Milli-Q water in the dark for a period of 36 days. NaN3 was added to half the bottles to test the role of microbial activity on the leaching rates and composition of leachate. Every three days the water was decanted and replaced with fresh Milli-Q water. The decanted samples were filtered and analyzed for DOC concentration, sugar content, and total phenol content.