Primary Productivity of the Biosphere

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-2

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   2. Scope and Purpose of This Volume

      • Robert H. Whittaker, Gene E. Likens, Helmut Lieth

      Pages 3-5

   3. Historical Survey of Primary Productivity Research

      • Helmut Lieth

      Pages 7-16

3. Methods of Productivity Measurement

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 17-18

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   2. Methods of Assessing Aquatic Primary Productivity

      • Charles A. S. Hall, Russell Moll

      Pages 19-53

   3. Methods of Assessing Terrestrial Productivty

      • Robert H. Whittaker, Peter L. Marks

      Pages 55-118

   4. Measurement of Caloric Values

      • Helmut Lieth

      Pages 119-129

   5. Assessment of Regional Productivity in North Carolina

      • Douglas D. Sharp, Helmut Lieth, Dennis Whigham

      Pages 131-146

   6. Methods of Assessing the Primary Production of Regions

      • David M. Sharpe

      Pages 147-166

4. Global Productivity Patterns

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 167-168

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   2. Primary Productivity of Marine Ecosystems

      • John S. Bunt

      Pages 169-183

   3. Primary Production of Inland Aquatic Ecosystems

      • Gene E. Likens

      Pages 185-202

   4. Primary Production of the Major Vegetation Units of the World

      • Helmut Lieth

      Pages 203-215

   5. Net Primary Productivity in Tropical Terrestral Ecosystems

      • Peter G. Murphy

      Pages 217-231

5. Utilizing the Knowledge of Primary Productivity

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 233-235

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   2. Modeling the Primary Productivity of the World

      • Helmut Lieth

      Pages 237-263

   3. Quantitative Evaluation of Global Primary Productivity Models Generated by Computers

      • Elgene Box

      Pages 265-283

   4. Some Prospects beyond Production Measurement

      • Helmut Lieth

      Pages 285-304

   5. The Biosphere and Man

      • Robert H. Whittaker, Gene E. Likens

      Pages 305-328

The period since World War II, and especially the last decade influenced by the International Biological Program, has seen enormous growth in research on the function of ecosystems. The same period has seen an exponential' rise in environmental problems including the capacity of the Earth to support man's population. The concern extends to man's effects on the "biosphere"-the film of living organisms on the Earth's surface that supports man. The common theme of ecologic research and environmental concerns is primary production­ the binding of sunlight energy into organic matter by plants that supports all life. Many results from the IBP remain to be synthesized, but enough data are available from that program and other research to develop a convincing sum­ mary of the primary production of the biosphere-the purpose of this book. The book had its origin in the parallel interests of the two editors and Gene E. Likens, which led them to prepare a symposium on the topic at the Second Biological Congress of the American Institute of Biological Sciences in Miami, Florida, October 24, 1971. Revisions of the papers presented at that symposium appear as Chapters 2, 8, 9, 10, and 15 in this book. We have added other chapters that complement this core; these include discussion and evaluation of methods for measuring productivity and regional production, current findings on tropical productivity, and models of primary productivity.

• Population
• Produktionsbiologie
• Seen
• biosphere
• ecosystem
• environment

• Department of Botany, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

  Helmut Lieth

• Section of Ecology and Systematics Langmuir Laboratory, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA

  Robert H. Whittaker

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