SEDL / STP / STP843-EB / STP35222S

First-Order Error Analysis for Aquatic Plant Production Estimates

Carpenter, SR
Professor, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN

Pages: 10    Published: Jan 1984

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Abstract

Variance estimates are rarely reported or rigorously determined for net primary production by higher aquatic plants, yet the variance must be known before production estimates can be compared conclusively. First-order error analysis is used here to derive formulae for estimating the variance of annual net production determined by demographic methods. Demographic methods determine net production of even-aged cohorts by analyzing curves of survivorship versus plant mass (Allen curves). Allen curves may be interpolated linearly or logarithmically. Calculation formulae for both alternatives are derived and compared in a common framework. Logarithmic interpolation is more consistent with observed thinning dynamics of even-aged plant stands.