A meta-analysis shows that seaweeds surpass plants, setting life-on-Earth's limit for biomass packing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

As plants, algae and some sessile invertebrates may grow in nearly monospecific assemblies, their collective biomass increases and if they compete hard enough some die, freeing up space. The concurrent increase in biomass and decrease in density is called self-thinning, and its trajectory over time or maximum values represent a boundary condition. For a single stand developing over time the boundary defines the carrying capacity of the environment but the most extreme trajectories emulate the efficiency of species in packing biomass into space.

Results

Here we present a meta-analysis of compiled data on biomass and density from 56 studies of 42 species of seaweeds from 8 orders within 3 phyla scattered through the world's oceans. Our analysis shows that, with resp

SUBMITTER: Creed JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6357480 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature