APES Unit 1 (Module 6 - Primary Productivity)

Producers

aka autotrophs. Plants, algae, some bacteria that use Sun’s energy to produce energy/sugar

Cellular respiration

the process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds 

Anaerobic respiration

cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen 

Primary productivity

 rate of converting solar energy into organic compounds over a period of time, impacts photosynthesis and cellular respiration

gross productivity

- total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time 

net primary productivity

energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire 

• Formula: net primary productivity = gross primary productivity - respiration by producers 

• Around 55-50 percent of GPP

  • Units of measurement: quantified in units of kilocalories of energy per square meter per year (kcal/m^2/year), also quantified in units of kilograms of carbon taken up per square meter per year (kgC/m^2/year)

rate of photosynthesis

 Carbon dioxide taken up during photosynthesis = carbon dioxide taken up in sunlight + carbon dioxide produced in the dark 

biomass

 total mass of all living matter in a specific area

standing crop

amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time