Primary and Secondary Production

Production in ecosystems is the accumulation of carbon compounds in the form of biomass

When organism grow biomass accumulates

Only plants and other autotrophs are considered as primary producers because they synthesis carbon compounds from CO2 and other inorganic substances

Primary productivity: accumulation of carbon compounds in the biomass of autotrophs

Result of synthesis of fresh organic matter from inorganic materials

Solar energy input is required

• Gross primary productivity: the total biomass of carbon compounds made in plants by photosynthesis

• Net primary Productivity: the GPP minus the biomass lost due to respiration of the plant and which is available to consumers

Occurs more quickly in some biomes than others

--> those that have more hours of sunlight, optimum temperatures and higher levels of rainfall

Secondary productivity: the process by which biomass is stored in the tissues of heterotrophs

Result of synthesis of organic matter from organic matter

Net primary productivity is required

Due to the subtraction of respiratory losses, the rate of secondary production is always lower than the rate of primary production in an ecosystem