Abstract
Carbon/nitrogen ratios and breakdown of leaves of Populustremuloides (allochthonous) and the aquatic macrophytes, Ceratophyllum demersum and Potamogeton pectinatus(autochthonous), were investigated in a eutrophic river. Theallochthonous material had a C/N ratio 5–6 × greaterand decayed slower than either of the macrophytes. The decay ratesmeasured for these species were greater in this eutrophicsystem than has been reported for the same species in moreoligotrophic systems. The rapid breakdown of the plant material and theeutrophic condition of the river suggest the microbialdecomposer community may have been limited, at least in part, by theavailability of detrital organic carbon, rather than dissolvednutrients only.
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