How does gross primary productivity differ from net primary productivity?

Question

Daniel Arnold · Accepted Answer

Gross primary production is the amount producers create over a set period of time whereas net primary productivity is former once respiration has been accounted for.

Gross primary production (GPP) is the rate at which primary producers convert energy to chemical biomass.

If you subtract the amount of energy the primary producer uses for respiration, you have the net primary production (NPP).

Much of the energy from GPP is used by the producer for cellular respiration. What energy is leftover, the NPP, is potentially available for other organisms to consume.

Connor Abernathy · Answer

undefined Gross primary productivity (GPP) refers to the total amount of energy captured by producers (usually plants) through photosynthesis in a given area over a specific time period. It represents the total rate of organic matter production by autotrophs.

Net primary productivity (NPP), on the other hand, is the amount of energy that remains available for consumption by heterotrophs (consumers) after accounting for the energy used by producers for their own cellular respiration (maintenance and growth). In other words, NPP is the energy stored in plant biomass that is available to support the rest of the ecosystem.

The main difference between GPP and NPP is that GPP represents the total amount of energy fixed by photosynthesis, whereas NPP represents the energy available for consumption by organisms at higher trophic levels after accounting for the energy used by producers themselves.

Maya Anderson · Answer

undefined Gross primary productivity (GPP) refers to the total amount of energy that plants capture through photosynthesis in a given area over a specific period, typically measured in terms of energy per unit area per unit time (e.g., kilojoules per square meter per year). Net primary productivity (NPP), on the other hand, represents the amount of energy that remains available to the primary producers (plants) for growth and reproduction after subtracting the energy used for respiration during photosynthesis. In essence, GPP is the total amount of energy captured by plants, while NPP is the portion of that energy available for plant growth and sustenance.