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The productivity of autotrophs, such as plants, is called primary productivity, while the productivity of heterotrophs, such as animals, is called secondary productivity. [ 1 ] The productivity of an ecosystem is influenced by a wide range of factors, including nutrient availability, temperature, and water availability.
Net ecosystem production (NEP) in ecology, limnology, and oceanography, is the difference between gross primary production (GPP) and net ecosystem respiration. [1] Net ecosystem production represents all the carbon produced by plants in water through photosynthesis that does not get respired by animals , other heterotrophs , or the plants ...
Out of a total of 28,400 terawatt-hours (96.8 × 10 ^ 15 BTU) of energy used in the US in 1999, 10.5% was used in food production, [3] with the percentage accounting for food from both producer and primary consumer trophic levels. In comparing the cultivation of animals versus plants, there is a clear difference in magnitude of energy efficiency.
Predator productivity is correlated with prey productivity. This confirms that the primary productivity in ecosystems affects all productivity following. [20] Detritus is a large portion of organic material in ecosystems. Organic material in temperate forests is mostly made up of dead plants, approximately 62%. [18]
Biodiversity plays a major role in the productivity and functioning of ecosystems, affects their ability to provide ecosystem services. [2] For example, biodiversity is a source of food, medication, and materials used in industry. Recreation and tourism are also examples of human economic activities that rely on these benefits.
F. Stuart Chapin and co-authors emphasize that ecosystem management is guided by ecological science to ensure the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services, [9] while Norman Christensen and coauthors emphasize that it is motivated by defined goals, employs adaptive practices, and accounts for the complexities of ecological systems. [10]
Field experiments to test the degree to which diversity affects community productivity have had variable results, but many long-term studies in grassland ecosystems have found that diversity does indeed enhance the productivity of ecosystems. [13] [14] [15] Additionally, evidence of this relationship has also been found in grassland microcosms.
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of living and non-living components of ecosystems and their interactions within an ecosystem framework. This science examines how ecosystems work and relates this to their components such as chemicals , bedrock , soil , plants , and animals .