Contribution of Major Groups of Autotrophic Organisms to Primary Production of Water Bodies

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Regularities in the development of macrophytes, epiphytes, and phytobenthos, common for different types of water bodies, are first described. The dependence of their production on the morphometry of lakes, total phosphorus content, water transparency, and latitude is examined. The total phosphorus content is shown to affect primarily the development of phytoplankton and to have only indirect effect on the development of macrophytes, epiphytes, and phytobenthos. A mass-balance model for prediction of the biomass and annual production of phytoplankton, macrophytes, epiphytes, and phytobenthos is suggested.