The book, dynamic properties of forest ecosystems covers on 672 pages the major primary productivity related processes of forest ecosystems as they were investigated during the IBP.
About 117 forest sites were investigated during that program which reported their related data to the data storage center at Oak Ridge, TE, where they were analyzed and compared. The book is divided into l 1 chapters. Chapter eleven reports the data on 106 pages. The information included are all or in part: 1. for plants
The net annual primary productivity, the increment, the net annual organic matter flux, the overstory component, the understory, the ground layer (called field layer), stocking density in number of stems per hectare, basal area increment, standing dead amount, insect frass.
2. for the environment
Geographical location, global radiation, radiation balance, soil top organic material of F and H layers.
Additional information about several environmental forces and processes are given in the preceding 10 chapters. They include information about principal species composition, growth, aging and succession, elemental cycling, biomass allocation, and forest growth depending on water balance criteria.
Chapter 1, written by R. L. Burgess deals on 37 pages with the physiognomy and the principal plant species of the 117 sites. Chapter 2 by O. L. Loucks, A. R. Ek, W. C. Johnson & R. A. Monserud discusses on 50 pages growth, ageing, and succession mainly of the forest types in the Eastern United States. Chapter 7 by R. V. O'Neill & D. L. De Angelis analyzes the 1BP woodland data set for productivity and biomass standing crop relation. In chapter 8 R. H. Gardner & I. B. Mankin analyze for the same data set the biomass allocation. In chapter Vegetatio 52, 76 (1983).