I examined concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in precipitation, upland forest throughfall, stemflow and soil water, peatland pore water, beaver ponds, and streams from May to September 1994 in the BOREAS Northern Study Area, near Thompson, Manitoba, Canada. Concentrations of DOC in precipitation were large (8 mg L-1) compared to other boreal locations, possibly associated with a high incidence of local forest fires. DOC concentrations increased in throughfall, stemflow, and soil organic horizons and decreased in subsoil pore water, associated with DOC sorption. Pore water of fens and bogs contained large DOC concentrations (seasonal average 20 to 40 mg L-1), similar to that observed in beaver ponds (seasonal average 19 to 38 mg L-1). Streams draining three small (30 to 420 km2) catchments contained DOC concentrations generally from 15 to 30 mg L-1, with a negative correlation with discharge. For the May to September period, it was estimated that precipitation imported ~2 g DOC m-2, increasing to 3 to 6 g DOC m-2 with passage through forest vegetation and organic horizons. DOC export in streams was estimated to be ~3 g DOC m-2, controlled mainly by contributions from wetlands and beaver ponds before reaching streams. Although DOC concentrations are large, compared to other landscapes, the hydrologic pathways and the paucity of mineral subsoils for DOC sorption, and the small runoff (average 125 mm, May to September 1994 to 1996) in this continental climate (precipitation 535 mm yr-1) environment results in a small export of DOC from the land surface to water bodies.