Fundamental issues in measurement of primary production

Given the goal to measure daily, water-column primary production, the various impediments to an unambiguous result are reviewed. These include the problem of definition of primary production, in both the fundamental and operational senses; the extrapolation of the results of short-term incubations to daily rates; the problem of respiration; and the problem of heterotrophic activity. The intrinsic time scales associated with different methods of measuring primary production are discussed, leading to an exam ination of the issue of comparing the results of bulk-property methods with those of in vitro methods. The question of extrapolation of results from local measurements to values representative of larger spatial scales is introduced. Finally, the utility of mathematical results as complementary tools to field measure­ments is addressed. Whenever possible the points discussed are related to chapters presented by other contributors to this volume.

Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 197 - "Measurement of Primary Production from the Molecular to the Global Scale". Symposium held in La Rochelle, 21-24 April 1992. To access the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Vol. 197".