Dissolved organic matter (DOM) comes from the partial decomposition of organic material and from water-soluble particles released by living organisms. It is an important piece of the aquatic food chain which plays a role in ecosystem productivity, nutrient cycling, UV light penetration, and heavy metal transport (Baines & Pace, 1991, Downing et al., 2009, Jansen, Kalbitz & McDowell, 2014, McKnight et al., 2001, Saraceno et al., 2009, Stedmon, Markager, & Bro, 2003, Williams et al., 2013,Wright & Reddy, 2009). DOM is a major contributor to the forming processes of soil as well as feeding microbial metabolism in aquatic environments, and relies on the hydrologic regimes for transport through soils to aquatic systems. Various anthropogenic landscapes can potentially have a large influence on the ecosystem dynamics of DOM, both directly (e.g., agriculture) and indirectly (e.g., impervious surfaces) (Baines & Pace, 1991, Jansen, Kalbitz, & McDowell, 2014, Saraceno et al., 2009, Williams et al., 2013, Wright & Reddy, 2009). Willband Creek is located in Abbotsford, BC, Canada (figure 1). It drains an area over 69 km2 by the time it joins the Fraser River at Matsqui Slough and is an important salmon bearing watershed (DFO, 1999). The creek itself begins from a groundwater fed lake in a large urban park near the centre of town before passing through residential, park/natural, industrial, and agricultural land before exiting into the Fraser River, and is joined by side tributaries that come off of the multi-usage Sumas Mountain and passing through agriculture land (figure 2). As part of a larger project, the purpose of this study is to attempt to understand how the various cityscape uses affect the movement and concentration of DOM within a dynamic aquatic environment.
