Aquatic carbon cycling from the headwaters to the sea in eastern Australia

Inland aquatic systems are important components of the global carbon (C) budget. However, the drivers of spatiotemporal variability in C fluxes occurring within and between inland aquatic systems are not well understood. This research aims to improve understanding of the factors influencing C cycling across aquatic gradients from the headwaters to estuaries. Variability was characterised at intra-ecosystem spatial and over diel-to-seasonal temporal scales, as well as during both the active (baseflow) and passive (stormflow) phases of the hydrologic cycle. This study also exemplifies the importance of considering land use characteristics when assessing the carbon dynamics of estuaries.