摘要：Qualitative argumentation dominates the research in ecology, whereas quantitative approaches characterize the physical and chemical studies. Further development of powerful quantitative methods is needed in ecology to improve the utilization of ecological knowledge in the research of present changes on the globe and to enhance the utilization of physical knowledge in ecology. Here, we (1) define new concepts that enable the quantitative formulation of the most essential features of photosynthesis, and (2) derive exact predictions of the relationship between photosynthesis and light together with the action of stomata. We predicted 300 daily patterns of photosynthesis of a pine shoot from 50 000 measurements of light, temperature and water-vapor concentration in the field. Our theory predicted 95%–97% of the variance of measured photosynthesis. Our example indicates that the theory-formation approach can successfully be applied in ecology to describe photosynthesis, a phenomenon fundamental to life on Earth.
