ABSTRACT
Based on data from the Houghton Lake Porter Ranch Wetland, an accounting of biomass, nitrogen and phosphorus is presented, for the natural stationary repetitive state. The budgets for the wetland are constructed from data on ten compartments; annual and woody live biomass, roots, standing dead, annual and woody litter, three soil layers and surface water. A simple set of empirical rules for biomass behavior provide a reasonable description of seasonal variations. A simple computer program allows the calculation of annual cycles, based on material supplies and constraints, and the most commonly measured variables.
