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The Measurement of Primary Production in Aquatic Ecosystems

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Book cover Methods in Ecosystem Science

Abstract

All biological systems exist as a result of continual inputs of energy to maintain structure and order. At the scale of the ecosystem, most of this energy comes from sunlight, which is converted into the energy of organic matter in living biomass through the process of primary production, and from imports of organic matter from adjacent ecosystems. This import of energy in organic matter is, of course, dependent upon primary production in the “upstream” ecosystem. Thus, a critical aspect of understanding the functioning of an ecosystem is an accurate estimate of its rate of primary production.

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Authors
  1. Robert W. Howarth
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  2. Anthony F. Michaels
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IFEVA, Cátedra de Ecología, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. San Martin 4453, Buenos Aires, 1417, Argentina

    Osvaldo E. Sala

  2. Department of Biology and Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Phytotron Building, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Robert B. Jackson

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Harold A. Mooney

  4. Program in Biogeochemistry and Environmental Change, Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University, Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Robert W. Howarth

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Howarth, R.W., Michaels, A.F. (2000). The Measurement of Primary Production in Aquatic Ecosystems. In: Sala, O.E., Jackson, R.B., Mooney, H.A., Howarth, R.W. (eds) Methods in Ecosystem Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1224-9_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-1224-9_6

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