Dissolved Carbohydrate Concentration, Composition, and Bioavailability to Microbial Heterotrophs in Stream Water

Dissolved total carbohydrates (DTCH), dissolved free monosaccharides (DFMS), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), biodegradable DOC (BDOC), and humic substances (HS) were measured in White Clay Creek (WCC), a stream in southeastern Pennsylvania Piedmont, USA. Samples were collected over different seasons and under baseflow and stormflow conditions. DOC concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 12.8 mg/L C with the highest concentrations associated with stormflows. Carbohydrates ranged from 0.42 to 12.4 μM and accounted for 2.9 to 12.7 % of the DOC. Humic substances represented the major DOC fraction, accounting for 55 to 72 % of the DOC pool under all flow conditions. The humic fraction had a lower carbohydrate content (4.4%) than the non-humic fraction of DOC (7.2 %). Stormflow DOC was enriched in carbohydrates relative to baseflow DOC, but the percentage of humic-C changed little. Carbohydrates were primarily present as dissolved polysaccharides (55 %), but a significant fraction was bound to humic substances (40%), while a small proportion was present as monosaccharides (5%). The major monosaccharides in stream water, listed in order of decreasing concentration, included glucose, galactose, rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, mannose, and fucose. On average (30.6 ± 7.4)% (n = 44) of the stream water DOC was biodegradable, and carbohydrates accounted for 9.9 to 17.7% of the BDOC.