BIOL 2101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Chemical Energy, Thermal Energy, Sodium Chloride

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As far as we know, earth is the only place where there is a biological fixation of energy. The field of ecological energetics is the study of the ways that solar energy becomes fixed by plants and other photosynthetic organisms and is then available to be transferred to other species. Biomass (or standing crop) refers to the weight of the accumulated production of organic matter by an organism or ecosystem. Productivity refers to the rate at which energy is being fixed (autotrophs) and also the rate at which biomass is accumulating. Ecological energetics is based on the principle that organisms and ecosystems are open systems with respect to energy. In almost all ecosystems, solar radiation is the key resource that supports the existence of organisms and ecological productivity. Biomass accumulated by autotrophs is also a vital food for heterotrophs. Energy: the capacity of a body or a system to perform work.

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