AP®︎ Environmental Science: Topic 1.8 Flashcards

Rate at which producers convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in organic compounds, measured as energy per unit area per unit time

Total rate at which photosynthesis captures and stores energy in a given area before producer respiration is subtracted

Rate of energy storage as new producer biomass after respiration; NPP = GPP − producer respiration

Quantity of living material present at a particular time, unlike productivity, which is the rate at which new material is produced

Measure the change in dry producer biomass per area over a known time; the increase estimates NPP.

Measure dissolved oxygen changes: the light bottle gives NPP, the dark bottle’s oxygen loss gives respiration, and GPP = NPP + respiration

Resource or condition in shortest effective supply that restricts primary productivity despite the availability of other requirements

Upper region of a body of water where enough light is available for photosynthesis

Depth where gross photosynthesis equals producer respiration, making NPP approximately zero

Most red light is absorbed within the upper 1 m, while blue light penetrates deepest but reaches beyond 100 m only in the clearest water