ENVI 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Rhizobium, Keratin, Nitrogen Cycle
12 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Gpp (gross primary productivity): the rate at which an ecosystem"s producers convert solar energy into chemical energy. Measured in terms of energy production per unit area over a given time span. Npp (net primary productivity): the rate at which producers use photosynthesis to produce and store chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored chemical energy through aerobic respiration. Limits the number of consumers that can survive on earth. Very productive at swamps and marshes, tropical rain forests, estuaries, temperate forests. Humans use, waste, destroy around 38% of earths" total potential npp. Matter cycles within and among ecosystems and the biosphere. Water molecules have hydrogen bonds between each other that allow it to have many characteristics: Universal solvent: many substances dissolve in it due to its polarity. Cohesion (molecules stick together), adhesion (molecules cling to other surfaces): allows for efficient transport of nutrients and waste and creates surface tension.
