Solar energy, biomass, and carbon

biomass

the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume

producers (autotrophs)

Organisms that make their own food

consumers (heterotrophs)

organisms that eat other organisms for energy

How do producers obtain their energy?

transform energy through photosynthesis

How do consumers obtain their energy?

transfer energy through feeding

What does photosynthesis do to light energy?

it transforms it into chemical energy

What is photosynthesis?

The process by which a cell captures energy in sunlight and uses it to make food

What is needed for plants to photosynthesise?

carbon dioxide and water

What is made in a plant during photosynthesis?

Glucose and oxygen

What are the types of primary production?

Gross primary production, Net primary production, and Net primary productivity

What constructs plant biomass?

Chemical energy photosynthesised using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

What is the total biomass of a plant closely related to?

Carbon assimilation

Carbon assimilation

when plants take in carbon dioxide and turn it into food (glucose)

Secondary production

Amount of chemical energy in consumers' food that is converted to new biomass.

What does secondary production show?

How energy moves up the food chain

How is energy lost between trophic levels?

It is lost as heat through respiration at each trophic level

Assimilation

carbon moves along the food chain when consumers feed on each other or producers

Fossilisation

When carbon from a living organism is trapped and turns into a fossil

Combustion

when fossil fuels are burned and carbon dioxide is released

Decomposition

dead organisms, urine, and faeces are broken down into simpler carbon compounds

Gross primary production (GPP)

The rate at which solar energy is converted to photosynthetic products

Net primary production (NPP)

GPP minus energy used by primary producers for respiration

Net primary productivity

the rate at which biomass accumulates in an ecosystem