From land to water, an overview of organic matter research in France––proceedings of the Sainte-Maxime 2009 symposium organized by the French network on organic matter research

Abstract

A Research Network focusing on organic matter (Réseau MO) was established in 2004 in France. Its overall goal was to encourage discussions between French speaking scientists originating from a wide range of disciplines (soil science, hydrology, oceanography, sedimentology, cosmochemistry, waste management, etc.) studying the same subject: organic matter (OM). The various scientific communities working on OM often ignore each other. However, they focus on the same issues regarding sources, transformations and interactions of OM with other compounds. They use similar techniques and methodologies to address these issues, and face similar limitations regarding the understanding of this complex matrix. In order to improve scientific synergy between the various OM approaches, the ''Réseau MO'' intends to stimulate interactions between scientists from all communities working on OM. Workshops, summer schools and conferences are organised regularly to facilitate the sharing of recent analytical tools, to present emerging methods, to relate the latest scientific findings, to identify crosscutting and uniting themes, and to stimulate creativity.This special issue of Biogeochemistry presents a selection of the results from the Second Conference organised by this network, which took place on 25-28 January, 2009 at Sainte Maxime, in the south of France. The conference was attended by 140 delegates and focused on the impact of human activities on OM dynamics. Five sessions were held during the Conference, four of them dedicated to a research theme and the last one specifically focusing on methodological advances for OM study. Presentations and debates addressed the storage of carbon in soils and wetlands, the impact of anthropogenic activities on this storage, the sources of OM in aquatic systems, and the affinity of dissolved organic matter for hazardous compounds. Outcomes of these topics are summarised below.Storage of carbon in soils and wetlands: contribution of plant versus microbial OM Terrestrial ecosystems, if properly managed, are expected to sequester a part of the increased