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low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) prevail on earth’s surface. They are the vital intermediate products during metabolic pathways of organic matter and anticipated in the tricarboxylic acid’s cycle during the life activities. The photochemical reactions are pivotal for LMWOAs’ origination and the emphasis determining their diversity involved in inclining to the ultimate fate. Within the long time that organic matter preserved in sediments, they can be decomposed and converted to release organic and inorganic pollutants as well as C, N, P nutrients, which are of potential ecological risk to cause the secondary pollution to lake water. Sediment pool is a comprehensive and complex compartment closely associated with overlying water by various biochemical processes, during which LMWOAs played critical roles to transport and transform elements. This paper elucidates geochemical behaviors of LMWOAs in surface environment in detail, taking natural water, soil, aerosol as examples, focus on reviewing research development of sources and characteristics, migration and mineralization of LMWOAs and relevant environmental effects. Simultaneously, this review depicts the categories and contents of LMWOAs or the contribution to DOC in environmental medium, evaluates their importance during organic matter early diagenesis. Through concluding and discussing the conversion mechanisms and influencing factors, the next research orientations on LMWOAs in lake ecosystems are determined, mainly concerning relationships with hydrochemical parameters, microorganisms and the interactions with pollutants. This will enrich the knowledge of organic matter degradation and related environmental effects, help reconstruct the theoretical skeleton frame of organic compounds succession and influencing factors, provide basic data for lake eutrophication and ecological risks assessment, conducive to the more control over water pollution and proper management of water quality.
