The increase in Ecell/Eox values at the enriched sites, with the notable exception of

WCA-2A, indicate decreased apparent lignin control on C mineralization. This would

indicate a greater C mineralization potential. However, since enzyme activities in the

view of a resource allocation model are interdependent, other factors may be influencing

these trends. The higher Ecell/En values at the enriched sites in the four areas are a

response to increased perceived N content. This is not apparent in the TN content of the

soils which suggests that this parameter is not well suited for judging N availability, since

there are varied forms of N within the system. A large portion of endogenous N may also

be shielded by refractory compounds within the litter (Sinsabaugh and Moorhead, 1994)

while exogenous N loading has been shown to repress lignin degradation (Eriksson et al.,

1990; Blanchette, 1991; Sinsabaugh et al., 1993; Hammel, 1997; Carreiro et al., 2000) by

the repression of phenol oxidase. Therefore a connection may be established between N

and lignin influence on C mineralization whereas individual enzyme activities do not

necessarily point to this conclusion. Therefore it appears that P loading has resulted in a

generally lower level of lignin influence on C mineralization, although a higher level of

microbially-perceived exogenous N may be repressing oxidative enzyme activity.

 The combination of factors resulting from nutrient loading to the four areas of the

Everglades appears to have resulted in a decrease in N, P, and lignin influence on the

microbial community. This decrease of nutrient limitation on the community should

result in greater mineralization rates of plant matter, which is supported by consistently

higher CRR rates at the enriched sites as well as a greater microbial biomass in another

study in WCA-2A (Wright and Reddy, 2001 la). The CRR decomposition model, utilizing

both TP and Ecell/Ep as parameters, indicates the relatively strong influences that the P