ETIABO: Energy and ecosystems Flashcards
What 2 ways is biomass measured in?
- The mass of carbon per given area.
- Dry mass per given area
All biomass contains ______ ______ _____.
Chemical energy stores
What are chemical energy stores within biomass?
Energy stored in the bonds of chemical compounds
Chemical energy stores are produced during ________.
Photosynthesis
To estimate the chemical energy stores in dried biomass scientists use _______.
Calorimetry
How does calorimetry work to calculate chemical energy stores in dried biomass?
- Dried biomass is placed in a chamber and burnt in oxygen.
- This breaks the bonds in the biomass, so the chemical energy is released as heat energy.
- This increases the temperature of the surrounding water
What is the equation to calculate heat energy per unit of mass?
Specific heat capacity of water x water volume x temp change / mass of dry biomass
What do we call the total amount of energy stored in biomass?
Chemical energy stores
Only a small amount of light that hits a plant will be converted into _______.
Chemical energy store
Give 3 reasons why all of the light that hits a plant won’t be converted into chemical energy store:
- Not all the light will enter a chloroplast
- Some of the light may have the wrong wavelength (will be reflected)
- Low carbon dioxide concentration (limiting factor of photosynthesis)
Some of the chemical energy in plants will be used for _______.
Respiration
Consumers get energy from ______ other organisms or producers.
consuming
When consumers consume an organism/producer, why isn’t ALL of the energy transferred to it?
- Not all of the organism/producer is consumed
- Not all of the organism/producer is digested
What is gross primary production?
The chemical energy store in plant biomass, in a given area or volume, in a given time.
Net primary production is the chemical energy store that results once _______ is taken into account
respiration
By what two ways do farmers increase the efficiency of energy transfer?
- Simplify food webs to remove competing organisms
- They reduce respiratory loses.
What is net primary production?
The chemical energy store in plant biomass after respiratory losses to the environment have been taken into account.
Give the equation to calculate net primary production:
NPP = GPP - R
NPP= net primary production
GPP = gross primary production
R = respiratory losses
Give the equation to calculate net production of consumers:
N = I - F + R
N = Net production of consumers
I = energy in food
F = energy lost in Faeces
R = Respiratory losses
