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How do plants use the sugars from photosynthesis?
primarily as respiratory substrates
Used to synthesise other biological molecules
What is biomass?
The total dried mass of tissue or mass of carbon measured over a given time in a specific area
What are the units for biomass?
when an area is being sampled: gm-2
When a volume is being sampled: gm-3
How can the chemical energy store in dry mass be estimated?
calorimetry
Energy released = specific heat capacity of water x volume of water x temperature increase in water
define gross primary production (GPP).
The total chemical energy in plant biomass within a given volume or area.
define net primary productivity (NPP)
The total chemical energy available for plant growth, reproduction and energy transfer to other trophic levels after respiratory losses
How can the net production of consumers be calculated?
N=I - (F+R)
I: chemical energy from ingested food
F: energy lost as faeces and urine
R: respiratory losses
Define primary or secondary production
The rate of primary or secondary production
Biomass in a specific area over a given time period
Outline some common farming practices used to increase the efficiency of energy transfer.
exclusion of predators
No energy lost to other organisms in food web
Artificial heating
Reduce energy loss to maintain a constant body temperature
Movement restriction
Controlled feeding
Why is a pyramid of biomass preferable to a pyramid of numbers
The shape of a pyramid of numbers may be skewed because a small number of producers can support many consumers
Note 
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