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Gross and Net Primary Productivity and Ecological Pyramids

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State

Gross primary productivity is the energy producers fix; net primary productivity is what remains after their own respiration, the energy an energy pyramid narrows by.

Show

A forest with high gross productivity but heavy respiration can show lower net productivity than a marsh fixing less energy.

Watch for

A pyramid of energy always narrows upward, but a pyramid of numbers or biomass can invert.