Calculations of net primary productivity

Explain the relationship between gross primary productivity, net primary

productivity and plant respiration
 Only 1-2% of the light energy
falling on a tree is captured and
turned into chemical energy by
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 The rest is reflected, or just
warms up the tree as it is
absorbed
Gross Primary Productivity

 It is measured in joules (J)

 It is the energy captured or
assimilated by an organism
 For a plant, it is the sunlight
actually fixed by the leaves
during photosynthesis
 Energy is stored in leaf as
sugars and starches, which later
are used to form flowers, fruits,
seeds
It is the amount of stored chemical energy the plant
earns through photosynthesis.
 The rate at which energy is incorporated into organic
molecules by ecosystem.
 -expressed as: units of energy per unit of area per year.

 𝒆. 𝒈: 𝒌𝑱𝒎−𝟐 𝒚−𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝑱𝒉𝒂−𝟏 𝒚−𝟏

 Some of the carbohydrates produced are quickly

broken down in respiration.
-provides energy for life processes in plants
-rest are incorporated into proteins etc. creating
biomass.

 Rate at which energy is transferred into the biomass.

Where R is plant respiration
 -expressed as: units of energy per unit of area per year. Efficiency (E):
 𝒆. 𝒈: 𝒌𝑱𝒎−𝟐 𝒚−𝟏 𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝑱𝒉𝒂−𝟏 𝒚−𝟏
Definition:
The total energy gain in biomass
per unit time due to photosynthesis
in plants.
 It is the amount of stored chemical energy the plant
has to use for growth.
This is directly proportional to biomass.

The gain in energy or biomass per unit

time remaining after allowing for
respiratory losses (R).
R = Respiration (amount of energy lost through
respiration, i.e. heat, lost as CO2 etc.)
 Gross primary productivity and Net primary productivity are
not the same
 The plants produce biomass over time and then lose some of
it due to respiration (R).

 NPP = GPP – R
 Net productivity = Gross productivity - Respiration Energy
 The productivity of a plant is called PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY
because plants are the first or primary organisms in the food
web.
 They move water and stored chemicals around
 They make hormones and enzymes to control their metabolism
 They make flowers, fruits, new leaves and stems

 The energy left over after they have used what they need is called the net
productivity.
 The energy used by the plant for essential tasks is called respiration energy, and
eventually it is released to the environment as heat.
 It refers to the production of biomass over time by consumers.
 It is also called assimilation.

 Animals must eat other organisms to obtain energy, unlike plants which photosynthesize

 Animals may eat plants or animals or both

 Not all the energy in food is absorbed (assimilated) into an animal’s body

 Unassimilated food is ejected as faeces or droppings

Gross Secondary Productivity = Food Assimilated

Gross Productivity = Food Eaten - Energy In Faeces
(Food eaten – Energy in faeces) - Respiration As well as keeping
themselves alive, animals
must use energy to move
and keep warm

Plants need rather less

energy

But in the end, (as in

plants), it all turns to heat
 In a food web diagram, you can usually assume that:
 the energy input into an organism represents the Gross Productivity (GP)
 the energy output from that organism to the next trophic level represents
the Net Productivity
 the difference between GP and NP = R (respiration energy ) and/or loss to
decomposers
 GPP is the amount of stored chemical energy the plant earns through
photosynthesis.
 R is like income tax. The plant has to pay “respiration tax” because it
can’t photosynthesis at night & not all parts of the plant are capable of
photosynthesis.
 NPP = disposable income: what the plant has to spend after paying tax.
 Gross primary productivity (GPP), net primary productivity (NPP) and respiration (R)
are all inter-related. They can be linked together using the following equation.
 GPP = NPP + R
 Needless to say, it is quite possible that students would be given any two from the
three components and be required to calculate the third.
 To do this, the equation may need to be rearranged.
 The following may help:
 1 To calculate R use R = GPP – NPP
 2 To calculate NPP use NPP = GPP – R
 the GPP of an ecosystem is found to be 87 000 kJ m-2 year-
1 and the respiration in the same ecosystem is 50 000 kJ m-
2 year-1 then the NPP is:
 NPP = 37 000 kJ m-2 year-1
 A study was carried out to find the respiration per year in two different evergreen
forests. To do this, scientists collected data on the NPP and GPP of the forests. The
results are given in the table. Productivity is expressed here as grams of carbon fixed
per square metre per year (g of C m-2 year-1).

What is the respiration per year in the two different

forests?
 Draw your own energy flow diagram, rather like the one on the previous slide to show
energy flows through one of the animals named in your food web.
 You should include the following labels:
 –energy lost in faeces
 –food ingested
 –respiration loss, R
 –GSP, NSP
 –arrows showing energy moving to carnivores and decomposers