Question

The biomass available for consumption by the herbivores and the decomposers is called

• A. net primary productivity
• B. gross primary productivity
• C. standing crop
• D. secondary productivity

Answer 1

The correct option is A net primary productivity

The amount of energy accumulated in green plants as biomass or organic matter per unit area over a time period is known as Primary Productivity. The rate of total capture of energy or the rate of total production of organic materials (biomass) is known as Gross Primary Productivity (GPP).

However, while trapping the sunlight and converting the radiant energy into chemical energy, the green tissues use energy in the form of respiration. The balance energy or biomass remaining after meeting the cost of respiration of producers is called Net Primary Productivity (NPP). It is basically the gross primary productivity minus the rate of energy loss to metabolism and maintenance. Or in other words, it is the rate at which energy is stored as biomass by plants or other primary producers made available to the consumers in the ecosystem.

Secondary productivity is the rate of formation of new organic matter or energy stored at consumer level.

Standing crop is the amount of entire biomass of living organisms present in a given ecosystem excluding the non-living matter.