Question

The rate of conversion of light energy into chemical energy of organic molecules in a ecosystem is?

• A. Net primary productivity
• B. Gross primary productivity
• C. Secondary productivity
• D. Gross secondary productivity

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

Gross primary productivity

In ecology, productivity is the rate at which energy is added to the bodies of organisms in the form of biomass. Biomass is simply the amount of matter that's stored in the bodies of a group of organisms. Productivity can be defined for any trophic level or other group, and it may take units of either energy or biomass. Gross primary productivity, or GPP, is the rate at which solar energy is captured in sugar molecules during photosynthesis (energy captured per unit area per unit time). Producers such as plants use some of this energy for metabolism/cellular respiration and some for growth (building tissues).

So the correct option is 'gross primary production'.