2.3 Flows of Energy and Matter Flashcards
Solar radiation either gets…
absorbed or reflected
total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time by green plants
(the energy fixed/converted from light to chemical energy through photosynthesis)
Gross Primary Productivity
total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time by green plants after allowing for losses from respiration
(the increase in biomass and how much biomass is potentially available for consumers)
Net Primary Productivity
total gain in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time by consumers after allowing for losses for respiration
Net Secondary Productivity
total energy/biomass taken up by consumers and is calculated by subtracting the mass of fecal loss from the mass of food eaten
Gross Secondary Productivity
amount left over after deduction (think taxes!)
Net
total amount of something
Gross
Net primary productivity equation
Gross primary productivity - respiration
Biogeochemical cycles
Most chemical nutrients are however cycled, and nutrients never escape the cycle
Carbon sink
where carbon is stored
examples:
the ocean, soil, rocks, the atmosphere
The breaking down of dead material by bacteria, animals or fungi (decomposers) causes the release of…
carbon
Combustion
the process of burning something
fuel + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water
The most abundant gas in our atmosphere
Nitrogen
- Nitrogen fixation
- Nitrification
- Denitrification
- Feeding
- Excretion
- Death and Decomposition
Are all examples of…
Nitrogen Flows
Nitrogen Cycle Interactions in the Chesapeake Bay
- fertilizers damaging both water quality and aquatic life.
