Rapid surveys of plant productivity

Abstract

Vegetation and ecosystems are dynamic in nature. Plants form the food source for all other organisms and all food webs are ultimately dependent on the amount of plant tissue or biomass available for consumption. The rate of growth of plants varies greatly in response to the whole range of environmental limitations, but most notably climatic factors of solar radiation and moisture. Changes in growth rate are affected seasonally and also by the stage in the life cycle of a particular plant species. The amount of plant tissue which is accumulated in a given area over a certain period of time is known as the primary production or productivity. An important related concept is that of biomass or standing crop, which is the amount of plant tissue in a given area at one point in time. Most methods for measuring primary production are based on the repetition of biomass measurements at several points in time, with any increase in biomass representing the net primary production.