and all habitats in the reference plots while soil TP varied among individual sites.

Benthic TP concentrations were generally higher than soil TP values.

 Total nitrogen values were significantly different among individual sites while only

the sawgrass was affected by location on the gradient in the benthic layer. Soil TN values

were significantly different among individual sites and between the enriched and

reference open water and cattail habitats. TN concentrations were higher in the enriched

habitats with the exception of the sawgrass soil and benthic samples. TN was correlated

with TP in the benthic layer (Table 3-3).

 Benthic TOC values were significantly different among sites, although the effect of

the nutrient gradient was only significant at the open water site. Soil TOC was

significantly different among sites with the cattail (p<0.0001) and open water affected by

location on the gradient. There was no clear relationship between TOC concentrations in

the benthic and soil layers. Benthic TOC was significantly correlated with TP and TN,

while soil TOC was correlated with TP (Tables 3-3 and 3-4).

 Carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratios exhibited differences based on habitat type in both

the soil and benthic layers, range from 11.4 to 16.2, and were significantly correlated

with PHO and LEU in the soil layer. The open water habitat exhibited the lowest C:N

ratios among habitats with the largest difference occurring between the open water and

sawgrass habitats. There was no clear relationship between depth and C:N ratios.

 Lignin data were only available for the soil layer with a small sample size (n=6).

Lignin content increased from the reference to the enriched sites and was the highest in

the sawgrass habitat. Lignin ranged from 6% at the RCS site to 49% at the ESS site.