Ecosystem Productivity Explained
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ScribdTranslationsEcosystem Productivity Explained
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsINTRODUCTION
The concept of Productivity in an ecosystem refers to the production of
organic matter or biomass in a given area, per unit of time, in
in other words, it is the amount of organic matter accumulated in a certain
weather in a specific area.
In this research, the topic of productivity will be presented.
full of a lot of important information for the development and evolution of
the ecosystems, how is their environment and how energy flows, besides the
primary and secondary productivity which are important and are presented to
continuation.
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PRODUCTIVITY
Energy in the ecosystem
All living beings need matter and energy to carry out their
vital functions. All the energy used by living beings comes from the Sun,
this energy is consumed and will no longer be used by living beings, for
it is said that the energy that flows through an ecosystem is unidirectional, that is,
flows in one direction. The organic matter coming from remains and corpses.
of living beings is transformed by some microorganisms into matter
inorganic. This matter is consumed by autotrophic and heterotrophic beings. A
In turn, when they die, their remains are transformed back into matter.
inorganic, that is why matter constitutes a closed cycle in the
ecosystem.
Laws of thermodynamics
They are a set of laws on which is based [Link], it
it deals with four laws that are universally valid when applied to systems
that fall within the implicit restrictions in each one.
Thezeroth law of thermodynamicsit has different contents, in different
authors and in different contexts; that is to say, it can refer to one or the other of
the following two aspects of the equilibrium states of asystem
thermodynamicestablish balancethermodynamicthe transitivity of
thermal equilibrium.
TheFirst law of thermodynamics establish the equivalence between the
mechanical work and the amount ofheatas forms of exchange of
energy between a system and the surrounding world.
Thesecond law of thermodynamics it is compatible with a form
primary, the existence incapable of thermal machines that received a
a little bit ofheatfrom a source to produce equivalent mechanical work.
Thethird law of thermodynamicsestablishes that when thetemperature
tends to absolute zero, theentropyof any system tends to zero. It is not
the result of the direct abstraction of the experimental facts, but the
extent of the consequences of the preceding principles.
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Energy flow lines
The ecosystem operates thanks to the flow of energy that goes
moving from one level to the next. The energy flows through the chain
food only in one direction.
Energy enters the ecosystem in the form of light energy and exits in the form of
of thermal energy that can no longer be reused to sustain another ecosystem
in operation.
All living beings need energy. They need it to drive processes.
from life. For example, energy is needed to grow. Energy is also needed
energy to create offspring. In fact, energy is only needed to
stay alive. Remember that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Only
it can change form. Energy changes form as it moves to
through the ecosystems.
Most ecosystems obtain their energy from the sun. Only the
producers can use sunlight to produce usable energy. The
producers convert sunlight into chemical energy or food. The
consumers obtain some of that energy when they feed on producers.
They also pass some of that energy to other consumers when they are
devoured. In this way, energy flows from one living being to another.
Concept of productivity
It is a concept related to Economics that refers to the relationship between the amount of
products obtained through a production system and the resources used in
its production. In this sense, productivity is an indicator of efficiency
productive.
Likewise, productivity can also be measured in terms of time, this
it means that the less time is spent obtaining a product
determined, we can consider that the system is more productive.
La productividad, en este sentido, determina la capacidad de un sistema
productive for producing the required products and the degree to which the resources
employees in the production process are exploited.
Primary productivity
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In ecology, productivity is the rate at which energy is integrated into the
bodies of organisms in the form of biomass. Biomass is simply the
amount of matter stored in the bodies of a group of organisms. The
productivity can be defined for any trophic level, or any other type of
grouping, and it can be expressed in units of energy or biomass. There are two
basic types of productivity: gross and net.
To illustrate the difference, let us consider primary productivity (the productivity
of the primary producers of an ecosystem.
Gross primary productivity, GPP, is the rate of energy capture.
solar in glucose molecules during photosynthesis (energy captured
per unit area per unit time). Producers such as the
plants use part of this energy for their metabolism and respiration
cellular and part for its growth (tissue formation).
Net primary productivity, NPP, is gross primary productivity.
minus the rate of energy loss due to metabolism and
maintenance. In other words, it is the rate at which energy is
stored as biomass by plants and other primary producers, and
that is available to consumers of the ecosystem.
Plants generally capture and convert about 1.31.31, point, 3
1.6% of the solar energy that reaches the Earth's surface
and use about a quarter of the captured energy for their metabolism and
maintenance. So around 1% of the solar energy that
arrives at the Earth's surface (per unit area and time) ends as
net primary productivity
Net primary productivity varies among ecosystems and depends on many factors.
factors. These include the received solar energy, temperature, humidity, the
levels of carbon dioxide, nutrient availability, and interactions
in the community (for example, the grass consumption of herbivores). These
factors affect the number of photosynthesizers present to capture energy
bright and the efficiency with which they perform their function.
Secondary productivity
It is the accumulation of energy by consumer organisms. This depends on
the efficiency of the digestive process, of the type of herbivores, etc. Once the
herbivore consumes a plant, there is a large amount of material that passes through its
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body but that is not assimilated and that is eliminated; of what is assimilated, must be allocated
a portion for maintenance and reproduction. Only from this can it later form.
new tissues (biomass), grow, deposit fat, etc. that is what will remain
available to the consumer that eats the herbivore. On average, only about 10% of
the biomass of the first trophic level is transformed into biomass of the second level.
One of the factors that limit secondary production are the characteristics
metabolic of the consumer.
Trophic structure and ecological pyramids
The trophic structure of each community is often characteristic of a type.
particular of ecosystem (lake, forest, etc.). The trophic structure can be measured and
describe itself in terms of permanent production per unit area or in
energy terms fixed per unit area and unit of time, at levels
successive trophic levels. The trophic structure and also the trophic function can
to be shown graphically through ecological pyramids in which the first
level, producer, forms the base, and the successive levels form the rows that
they constitute the apex. Ecological pyramids can be of three types:
Pyramid of numbers
In which the number of individual organisms is exposed.
Pyramid of biomass
Based on the total dry weight, the caloric value or another measure of the total amount of
living material
Energy pyramid
In which the speed of energy flow or productivity is shown, or
both things at once, in successive trophic levels.
In the first two cases, the base may be smaller than one or some of
the upper floors, if the producing organisms are smaller in
average, in individual size, that consumers.
The number pyramid is actually the result of three phenomena that
They usually operate together. One of them is that a very large number of units is required.
small ones to match the mass of a large unit, regardless of whether
the units being organisms or building elements. The second of the
Phenomena is the food chain. Useful energy is always lost in the form of
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heat in the transfer through each step in the food chain; for the
therefore, there is much less energy available for the higher trophic levels. And
the third factor is the inverse type of metabolic rate in relation to the
size.
The biomass pyramid clearly shows the quantitative relationships of the
permanent production. A gradually declining pyramid can be expected,
as long as the size of the organisms does not differ considerably; on the other hand, if
organisms at the lower levels are on average much smaller than those
from the upper levels, the biomass pyramid may turn upside down.
such cases, although they pass more energy through the producer trophic level than to
through the consumer levels, the metabolism and the rapid renewal that
small producer organisms carry out a greater production with a
smaller permanent production biomass.
Of the three types of ecological pyramids, the energy pyramid provides with
much the best joint vision of the functional character of communities, since
that the number and weight of organisms that can be sustained in any
level and in any situation depends not on the amount of fixed energy
present at any moment at the immediately lower level, but of the
rate at which the food is being produced. In contrast to the pyramids
previous ones, which are representations of the existing states, that is, of the
organisms present at any time, the energy pyramid is the
reproduction of the passage speeds of the food mass through the
food chain. Its form is not affected by variations in the
size and metabolic rate of individuals.
The numbers overestimate the importance of small organisms, and the
biomass overestimates the importance of large organisms. In contrast, the
energy current, (P + R), provides a more appropriate index for comparison
any and all components of an ecosystem.
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CONCLUSION
After seeing the work, it can be concluded that productivity is the rate at which
that energy is integrated into the bodies of a group of organisms, such as the
primary producers, in the form of biomass. Gross productivity is the total rate
of energy capture. Net productivity is lower: it is productivity
gross adjusted for the energy that organisms use in their respiration and
metabolism, in a way that reflects the amount of energy stored as
biomass.
The producers primary, which are generally plants y others
Photosynthesizers are the gateway for energy to enter into the
trophic networks.
Ecological pyramids are visual representations of the flow of energy,
biomass accumulation and the number of individuals at different levels
trophic.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
[Link]
flow-primary-productivity
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stemas