Introduction of Productivity in the Ecosystem
Productivity
Productivity is all about how much work a participant produces in a unit of time. In the market economy, it is defined as the measure of the number of goods and services produced per worker per hour.
The productivity of the economy increases when the cost to produce each unit decreases. Ecosystem functions have traditionally been measured by the number of goods and services produced per unit of time. As the value of time increases, so does the importance of productivity. Increased productivity has historically been accompanied by improved standards of living. As productivity increased, the cost of a basket of goods used by consumers decreased.
Productivity standards in the US have declined relative to those in other countries. This can be explained in part by the inability of the US economy to keep up with advancements in information technology. There are many productivity standards. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics has published four main performance standards that have been used in the U.S. since the late 1800s. These standards include:
The Bureau of Labour Statistics has published two other productivity measures that are based on different economic assumptions. The following productivity measures are based on the expenditure concept. The formula for these measures is the same as for the first three.
Ecosystem
The ecosystem of a particular place refers to the living and nonliving things that are found in that place and their interactions with one another. It is crucial for productivity to understand this ecosystem because of the natural resources in our area.
An ecosystem includes many things from trees to birds to fish to different species of insects and how they interact with one another. The thing that controls an ecosystem is the amount of land, temperature, and whether that is present in that area. The productivity of a place can be affected by the ecosystem.
Human development is important because it affects our environment and our quality of life. When people try to change the ecosystem of a place, that affects the community. For example, when developers try to increase their land so they can build more houses for people to live in, this affects the animals, insects, and other organisms that live in that area. An ecosystem is where the whole system as a whole creates itself. It creates things like weather, soil, and plants in a certain area. An ecosystem creates and regulates the water, soil, and nutrients in that area. It is a process that can be both positive and negative, such as some plants need light while others do not. Humans may pollute an ecosystem by burning a forest that contains many different trees. This could cause them to all die in the process, or it could cause them to change the ecosystem in the wrong way and make the area worse than it was before. People also try to reduce their waste as much as possible and recycle. This helps the environment by reducing toxic material.
What is Productivity per unit of land? Productivity is directly tied to the number of available resources in an area. Ty in Ecosystem?
Productivity in an ecosystem refers to the percentage of energy that enters the ecosystem in the form of biomass at a particular trophic level. It is the rate at which biomass is formed in the ecosystem. At each trophic level in the ecosystem, a characteristic amount of biomass is present. Energy enters the ecosystem through primary producers. Thus, the total productivity of its ecosystem is measured based on two aspects- Primary productivity and secondary productivity.
Primary Productivity
Primary productivity is the generation of biomass by autotrophy. The autotrophy could be photoautotrophs or chemoautotrophs. In photoautotrophs, living things synthesize their food from inorganic elements in the presence of light that acts as a source of energy. Plants are the primary autotrophs and with the help of photosynthesis, they create organic matter from inorganic substances. Chemoautotrophy is the process by which simple living organisms of the ecosystem like bacteria and archaea, derive energy from chemical processes other than photosynthesis.
Primary Productivity Further has two Aspects:
Gross Primary Productivity
The rate at which photosynthetic primary producers that are the plants incorporate energy from the sun is called gross primary productivity. The organic matter or biomass thus produced is referred to as the gross primary productivity. Gross primary productivity is dependent on environmental factors and photosynthetic elements.
Net Primary Productivity
Some of the energy produced by gross productivity is lost by activities like respiration and metabolic heat loss. Net productivity is what remains after this loss of energy. It is what is available to the primary consumers at the next trophic level. Net primary productivity is estimated by subtracting loss of energy by gross primary productivity.
Therefore, Net primary productivity = GPP – Energy lost.
The net energy is stored in plants which are then used as food for the animals that feed on plants. Researchers consider the net primary productivity which is the amount of organic matter produced in a community in a given time. Nearly 170 billion tons of net primary productivity occurs over the entire biosphere per year.
Net primary productivity varies among ecosystems and is dependent on factors like solar energy input, weather conditions, moisture levels, carbon dioxide levels in the ecosystem, availability of nutrients, and interactions in the community. These factors influence the number of autotrophs that capture light energy and how efficiently they can perform their role.
Secondary Productivity
Secondary productivity is influenced by heterotrophs in the ecosystem. It is the energy accumulated at the consumer level. The biomass generation in secondary productivity is driven by the transfer of organic compounds between trophic levels through feeding. So, it is not like productivity at the primary level because it keeps moving from one organism to another. It can also be stated as the rate of increase in the biomass of heterotrophs. Animals, fungi, bacteria, and numerous other protists influence Secondary Production.
Unit of Productivity
Productivity is given by units of mass per unit volume (or surface) per unit time.
Movement of Energy Between Trophic Levels
The energy passes from one trophic level to the next when organic molecules from an organism's body are eaten by another organism. The transfer of energy between trophic levels is not completely efficient. Only about 10% of the energy stored as biomass in one trophic level gets stored as biomass in the next trophic level. That is from primary producers to primary consumers. Here, net productivity drops by a factor of ten from one trophic level to the next
FAQs on Productivity in the Ecosystem
1. Which ecosystem shows the highest and lowest productivities?
As a result of structural complexity, the highest gross primary productivity is found in coral reefs ecosystem. It is also known as the tropical rain forest. And the most productive ecosystems in the world are temperate and tropical forests. Desert and tundra are the least productive ecosystem.
2. Under what conditions do all ecosystems become equally productive?
All ecosystems become equally productive under the conditions of drought. This is because, in conditions of drought, tropical forests can be as efficient at using water as desert ecosystems.
3. What is primary productivity?
Primary productivity is the generation of biomass by autotrophy. The autotrophy could be photoautotrophs or chemoautotrophs. In photoautotrophs, living things synthesize their food from inorganic elements in the presence of light that acts as a source of energy. Plants are the primary autotrophs and with the help of photosynthesis, they create organic matter from inorganic substances. Where as, Chemoautotrophy is the process by which simple living organisms of the ecosystem like bacteria and archaea, derive energy from chemical processes other than photosynthesis.
4. What is gross primary productivity?
The rate at which photosynthetic primary producers that are the plants incorporate energy from the sun is called gross primary productivity. The organic matter or biomass thus produced is referred to as the gross primary productivity. Gross primary productivity is dependent on environmental factors and photosynthetic elements.
5. What is net primary productivity?
Some of the energy produced by gross productivity is lost by activities like respiration and metabolic heat loss. Net productivity is what remains after this loss of energy. It is what is available to the primary consumers at the next trophic level. Net primary productivity is estimated by subtracting loss of energy by gross primary productivity.
Therefore, Net primary productivity= GPP – Energy lost.
6. What is secondary productivity?
Secondary productivity is influenced by heterotrophs in the ecosystem. It is the energy accumulated at the consumer level. The biomass generation in secondary productivity is driven by the transfer of organic compounds between trophic levels through feeding. So, it is not like productivity in the primary level because it keeps moving from one organism to another. It can also be stated as the rate of increase in the biomass of heterotrophs.
7. What is the productivity of the ecosystem?
The productivity of the ecosystem is mainly produced by marine fish, salmon, and other species. In 2017, it also includes land animals like cattle and sheep, as well as arable crops like wheat and barley. The agricultural sector contributes the most in terms of labour and is directly responsible for about 6% of GDP. Agriculture is more labour-intensive than other sectors, even though it contributes relatively less to GDP. It is mainly funded by agricultural profits (profit as a result of livestock rearing) which are counted separately from the agricultural value-added. Watercraft are used in order to transport goods and people. The sector also relies on irrigation for crops. Transport is also used for freight transport of goods.
8. Are there any significant mineral resources?
No minerals have been found in Norwegian land, only below the seabed (Kongsvinger Mine), and sea-floor in the deep sea (Aurora Kvernberg). Norway has a small but significant number of oil and gas wells. The government has set up StatoilHydro, a joint state-owned enterprise to exploit the petroleum resources in the North Sea. The petroleum potential in the North Sea is estimated at 4.2trillion barrels of oil equivalent or a total of 76billion tonnes of oil equivalent. The StatoilHydro production is estimated at around 2.1billion tonnes of oil equivalent, mostly from the Greater Sulphur Prospect (Freya Field) which has estimated reserves of up to 1.7trillion barrels of oil equivalent. In addition, there are considerable gas resources, particularly in the Central Graben.
9. How does the ecosystem work?
The ecosystem works by the transfer of energy and matter between different parts of the system. The sun is the main source of energy, and it is used by plants to produce organic matter. This organic matter is then eaten by animals, which use the energy to grow, move, and reproduce. The waste products from the animals are then used by plants to produce more organic matter. This system can be seen on a much larger scale in terms of global food chains, which involves the transfer of energy and matter from plant to animal, then animal to plant. The photo above illustrates an energy and matter transfer from the sun to the atmosphere. Because of this transfer, energy is converted into the mass of chemicals such as CO2 and CH4, which are then released into the atmosphere, where they act as a powerful greenhouse gas that warms up the earth.
10. What are Greenhouse Gases?
Greenhouse gases are a group of about 100,000 gases with very low boiling points and high energy levels. Many of these gases exist naturally in the atmosphere and oceans, but some are manufactured by humans or by animals. When these gases are released into the atmosphere and ocean, they trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere. The extra heat causes global warming, which leads to climate change. Greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere when people burn fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Scientists say that humans have released more than 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
11. What affects productivity in an ecosystem?
When two or more species overlap in their food webs, it can be a problem for the species' levels of productivity. The presence of similar species from different genera can also have a negative effect on an ecosystem's productivity, which is dependent on the similarity in traits and preferences. An example of a specific problem that can arise from species overlaps in niche competition. Species from different genera may have similar traits, which can lead to problems for one species or the other.
