Retention of soluble organic nutrients by a forested ecosystem.

We document an example of a forested watershed at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory with an extraordinary tendency to retain dissolve organic matter (DOM) generated in large quantities within the ecosystem. Our objectives were to determine fluxes of dissolved organic C, N, and P (DOC, DON, DOP, respectively), in water draining through each stratum of the ecosystem and synthesize information on the physicochemical, biological and hydrologic factors leading to retention of dissolved organic nutrients in this ecosystem. The ecosystem retained 99.3 ,97.3 and 99.0% of water soluble organic C, N, and P, respectively, produced in litterfall, throughfall, and root exudates. Exports in streamwater were 4.1 kg ha <sup>