Production efficiency - ecosystem, Biology

Assignment Help:

Production Efficiency - Ecosystem

The maximum amount of solar energy harvested by plants is about 5 per cent but the average for green plants, on the whole is only a small fraction of sunlight, i.e., 0.02 per cent reaching the atmosphere. The production efficiency that is the ratio of net primary production to gross primary production (of green plants) is on the average rather high. It varies between 40 to 85 per cent. The most efficient are those plants which have low maintenance requirement due to minimum non-photosynthetic (non green) tissues, such as in grasses, algae and phytoplankton. Algae and crops like corn have an efficiency of about 80 to 85 per cent, submerged aquatic plants 60 to 75 per cent, deciduous forests about 42 per cent. Different ecosystems have different productivities.

Productivity of ecosystems depends on a variety of factors such as sunlight, temperature, rainfall and the availability of nutrients. Those situations that provide the best circumstances for plant growth are the most productive. Warm, moist, sunny areas with high levels of nutrients in the soil are ideal. Some areas have low productivity because one of the essential factors is missing. Deserts have low productivity because water is scarce, arctic areas too have low productivity because temperature is low, and open oceans also have low productivity because nutrients are in short supply. Coral reefs and tropical rain forests have high productivity. Marshes and estuaries are-highly productive since waters running into them are rich in the nutrients and they also get enough light.


Related Discussions:- Production efficiency - ecosystem

Explain xeno-transplantation, Explain Xeno-transplantation Xeno-transp...

Explain Xeno-transplantation Xeno-transplantation could enable individuals to survive and contribute their alleles to the gene pool who might not have already done so thus inc

What are properties that make water special for life, Q. What are the major...

Q. What are the major water properties that make water special for life? The water properties that make water biologically important are molecular polarity, thermal stability (

Human respiratory system - bronchioles, BRONCHUS - In thorax trachea is...

BRONCHUS - In thorax trachea is devided in to 2 bronchi that enter into lungs of its own side. Rings present in it. BRONCHIOLES - These are branches of bronchus.

Induction of hydrolases - responses to infection, Induction of hydrolases -...

Induction of hydrolases - Responses to Infection Plants do respond to attack by pathogens. To restrict their spread the cells synthesise and secrete enzymes to hydrolyse the c

Codon bias, Codon Bias  is the tendency for an organism or virus to make us...

Codon Bias  is the tendency for an organism or virus to make use of certain codons more than the others to encode a particular amino acid. A significant detrminant of codon bias is

Explain the spermatogonium and spermatocyte I, What is the difference betwe...

What is the difference between spermatogonium and spermatocyte I? The male germ cells are the spermatogonia (diploid cells, 2n) located in the testicles. They mature and by mea

Metabolic reactions in the hmp pathway, Metabolic Reactions  in the HMP Pa...

Metabolic Reactions  in the HMP Pathway The hexose monophosphate pathway is responsible for  the generation of a substantialfraction of the cytoplasmic NADPH required  for bios

What is mechanical digestion, What is mechanical digestion? In molluscs, ar...

What is mechanical digestion? In molluscs, arthropods, earthworms, birds and vertebrates, in general, which organs respectively participate in this type of digestion? Mechanica

Interaction of pyridoxine with ascorbic acid and leucine, Define Interactio...

Define Interaction of pyridoxine with Ascorbic acid and Leucine? Ascorbic acid: Vitamin B 6 metabolism increases with. Higher levels of vitamin C intake. Whole blood a

#title, natural selection

natural selection

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd