最近，人们开发了许多方法来测量水生天然有机物的生物降解性。这些技术测量可同化有机碳、可生物降解有机碳或细菌生长潜力。本文综述了涉及生物量和溶解有机碳（DOC）的各种方法，并总结了它们在评估处理过程和分配系统中细菌生长方面的应用。总结了各种方法的比较研究；它们通常在生物降解性测量中表现出良好的定性相关性。然而，这些方法中没有一种可以被视为可以常规使用。确定了研发需求。 包括57个参考文献、表格、图表。

A number of methods have recently been developed to measure the biodegradability of aquatic natural organic matter. These techniques measure assimilable organic carbon, biodegradable organic carbon or bacterial growth potential. This article reviews the various methods involving biomass and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and summarizes their application to the assessment of treatment processes and bacterial growth in distribution systems. Studies comparing the methods are summarized; they generally show good qualitative correlations among biodegradability measurements. However, none of the methods can be considered ready for routine use. Research and development needs are identified. Includes 57 references, tables, figures.