Tabl e 13. Concluded, 



bpecies 



Site 



Yr Peak 1 ive 

 biomass 



Production 



Ref. 



Different 3est 

 techniques estimate 



Interiiediate narsh 

 Phragmites communis 

 Sagi ttaria falcata 



Fresh marsh 

 Sci rpus val idus 

 Panicum hemitomon 



Goose Point 78 2,130 



Irish Bayou 78 2,466 



Barataria 74-5 990 

 Terrebonne 74-5 648 



2,541 a 



2,487 b 



3,075 b+ 



3,192 a 



2,861 b 



3,595 b+ 



Terrebonne 74 



360 



2,364 



1,402 



2,310 



1,113 



700 



508 



Terrebonne 74 800 



Barataria 80 1,150 



1,261 a 

 1,700 b 

 1,810 f 



3,075 



3,595 

 2,364 



2,310 

 608 



1,261 



1,700 



6 

 2 



2 

 5 



5 



7 



Techniques : 

 a - Smalley 1958 

 b - Wiegert and Evans 1964 

 b+- Wiegert and Evans 1954, modified 

 c - Mortality, Hopkinson et al . 1980 

 d - Williams and Murdoch 1972 

 e - Lomnicki et al . 1968 

 f - Density and longevity, Sasser 

 et al. 1982 



Reference : 



1 - Ki rby and Gosselink 1976 



2 - Hopkinson et al . 1980 



3 - Kaswadji 1982 



4 - White et al . 1978 



5 - Payonk 1975 



6 - Cramer and Day 1980 



7 - Sasser et al. 1982 



At the other extreme, Spartina patens 

 is an example of a species that grows 

 throughout the year, continuously adding 

 foliage and losing it through death in a 

 kind of steady state. Biomass fluctuates 

 widely around a mean, and there is little 

 if any seasonal pattern. For species like 

 these, peak biomass tells almost nothing 

 about annual production, which is three to 

 four times higher. S_. alterni flora 

 falls between these two extremes. It 

 continues to grow slowly during the winter 

 and always has some green foliage, but 

 superimposed on this is a distinct 

 seasonal cycle. 



Figure 42 contrasts the monthly 

 growth pattern of S_. al terniflora with 

 that of the fresh marsh species Panicum 

 hemitomon . The latter has a broad peak in 

 its growth rate during the spring; growth 



E 500 



o a P. hemitomon 



.J. .. .„ STREAMSIDE 

 • • INLAND 



]- 



tllmrntllora 



Figure 41. Monthly growth rates of 

 Panicum hemitomon (Sasser et al. 1982) and 

 Spartina alterni flora (Kirby 1971). 



46 



