Abstract
The seasonal growth rates and nitrogen and carbon fluxes were estimated for two subtidalMacrocystis integrifolia Bory kelp forests in British Columbia, Canada from changes in population structure through time. Mean relative growth rates of the forests varied from a high of 4.3% d-1 to a low of-3.6% d-1. Mean net assimilatioon rates of carbon (a photosynthesis analog) varied from a high of 0.66 g C m-2 of foliage d-1 to a low of-0.87 g C m-2 d-1. The leaf area index ranged from 0.3 to 11.9. Annual carbon input on a foliage area basis was calculated at 250 g C m-2 yr-1. Annual carbon input to the forest was estimated at 1 300 g C m-2 of ocean bottom yr-1. The yearly nitrate nitrogen input to the forest was estimated at 60 g N m-2 of ocean bottom yr-1. The net ecosystem production varied from-520 to +31 g C m-2 of ocean bottom yr-1. The intra-forest, inter-forest and seasonal variabilities of these productivity parameters are discussed.
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Communicated by R. W. Doyle, Halifax
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Wheeler, W.N., Druehl, L.D. Seasonal growth and productivity ofMacrocystis integrifolia in British Columbia, Canada. Mar. Biol. 90, 181–186 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00569125
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00569125