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PRODUCTION is the incorporation of energy and

biomass (matter) into the bodies of organisms.

PRODUCTIVITY

is production per unit time.

energy per unit area per unit time (J/m2/yr1)


Or
biomass added per unit area per unit time (g/m2/yr1)
BIOMASS is the mass of organic
material found in an
organisms/population/community/or
trophic level of an ecosystem.
Standing crop = ecosystem biomass.

GROSS PRODUCTIVITY (GP)


is the total gain in
energy or biomass
per unit time.
Could be through
photosynthesis or
absorption in
consumers.

NET PRODUCTIVITY (NP)


The gain in energy or biomass per unit
time remaining after all losses.
Organisms use some of the energy
they capture to keep themselves
growing and alive is called
METABOLISM.
The energy used by organisms for
essential tasks is called
RESPIRATORY ENERGY, and
eventually it is released to the
environment as heat.

NP = GP (respiration and metabolism)

(for both producers and consumers)

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)


The quantity of biomass potentially
available to consumers in an ecosystem.
Energy harnessed by producers = GPP.
Plants have to use some of the energy they
capture to keep themselves growing and
alive (metabolism and respiration).
Therefore...

NPP = GPP (respiration and metabolism)

Energy enters an ecosystem through


sunlight.
Only 2% of the light energy falling on a tree
is captured and turned into chemical energy
(glucose) by photosynthesis.
The rest is reflected, or just warms up the
tree as it is absorbed.

NET SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY


(NSP)
biomass gained by
heterotrophic
organisms through
feeding and absorption.
Not all food eaten is
absorbed (assimilated)
into an animals body.
Unassimilated food =
feces or droppings
NSP = food eaten (fecal loss, metabolism, respiration)

In a food web you can


usually assume that:
The energy input into
an organism = GP.
The energy output to
the next trophic level =
NP.
The difference between
GP and NP =
Respiration,
metabolism, and/or
loss to fecal matter or
decomposers .

Measuring Primary
Productivity

1. Harvest method - measure biomass and


express as biomass per unit area per unit
time.
2. CO2 assimilation - measure CO2 uptake
in photosynthesis and release by
respiration.
3. O2 production - Measure O2 production
and consumption.

Measuring Primary Productivity


4. Radioisotope method - use C14 tracer in
photosynthesis.
5. Chlorophyll measurement - assumes a
correlation between amount of chlorophyll and
rate of photosynthesis.

What affects productivity?


1. Solar radiation
2. Temperature
3. CO2
4. H2O
5. Nutrients
6. Herbivory

Therefore
The least productive ecosystems are
those with limited heat and light
energy, limited water and limited
nutrients.
The most productive ecosystems are
those with high temperatures, lots of
water, light and nutrients.

Biome Productivity
Estuaries
Swamps and marshes
Tropical rain forest
Temperate forest

Northern coniferous forest (taiga)


Savanna
Agricultural land
Woodland and shrubland
Temperate grassland
Lakes and streams
Continental shelf
Open ocean
Tundra (arctic and alpine)
Desert scrub
Extreme desert

800 1,600 2,400 3,200 4,000 4,800 5,600 6,400 7,200 8,000 8,800 9,600
Average net primary productivity (kcal/m2/yr)

Three years of satellite data on the earths GP.


LAND: high = dark green low = yellow
OCEAN: high = red low = blue

73%
Not used by humans

Human use
of biomass
produced by
photosynthe
sis (NPP).

3%
Used directly
8%
Lost or degraded land

16%
Altered by human activity

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