Question

1) how do temperature and precipitation interact to influence net primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems (compare desert and deciduous forest)

2) How does primary productivity function as a constraint on secondary productivity in ecosystems?

3) What does the top-down model of food chain structure imply about the role of secondary producers in controlling net primary productivity and standing biomass within ecosystems?

4) What does the energy conversion mean; what are the approximate values in all ecosystems in this simulation

5) How do assimilation effi

ciency and production effi ciency relate to the fl ow of energy through a trophic level?

[ ecology lab ]

Answer 1

The metabolic rate of plants and the photosynthesis process is generally high temperature de to sufficient sunlight. So the temperature increases the net primary productivity.

But the precipitation affects the opening of the stomata of the plant. To photosynthesize, stomata must be open so that the plants can take in carbon dioxide from the air, extract the carbon and release the oxygen back into the surrounding air. The plants lose water through stomata in case of high temperatures. So there must be a balance of water loss for effective primary productivity.