SBC LTER: Reef: Net primary production, growth and standing crop of Macrocystis pyrifera in Southern California

This data package has been deprecated because the models/methods have been changed.
Please see the new data package using updated models: Updated Kelp NPP packages . These data are a time series of net primary production (NPP), growth and standing crop for
the giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, that is appropriate for examining seasonal and
inter-annual patterns across multiple sites. The standing crop and loss rates of M. pyrifera are
measured monthly in permanent plots at three sites in the Santa Barbara Channel, USA. Collection
of these data began in May 2002 and is ongoing. Seasonal estimates of NPP and growth rate are
made by combining the field data with a model of kelp dynamics. The dataset includes plant
density in each plot and censuses of fronds on tagged plants at each site. NPP, mass specific
growth rate and standing crop are presented in four metrics (wet mass, dry mass, carbon mass and
nitrogen mass) to facilitate comparisons with previous studies of M. pyrifera and with NPP
measured in other ecosystems. A subset of these data covering the time period 2002-05-01 to 2007-12-31 were contributed to
Ecological Archives as Data Paper E089-119-D1 in 2008 (citation: Andrew Rassweiler, Katie K. Arkema,
Daniel C. Reed, Richard C. Zimmerman, and Mark A. Brzezinski. 2008. Net primary production,
growth, and standing crop of Macrocystis pyrifera in southern California. Ecology
89:2068 ).