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Related Concept Videos

Primary Production01:06

Primary Production

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The total amount of energy acquired by primary producers in an ecosystem is called gross primary production (GPP). However, of this energy, producers use some for metabolic processes, and some is lost as heat, decreasing the amount of energy available to the next trophic level. The remaining usable amount of energy is called the net primary productivity (NPP). In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP is driven by climate, while light penetration and nutrient availability drive NPP in aquatic ecosystems.
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Production Efficiency01:01

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Net production efficiency (NPE) is the efficiency at which organisms assimilate energy into biomass for the next trophic level. Due to low metabolic rates and less energy spent on thermoregulatory processes, the NPE of ectotherms (cold-blooded animals) is 10 times higher than endotherms (warm-blooded animals).
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Work-energy Theorem01:42

Work-energy Theorem

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According to Newton’s second law of motion, the sum of all the forces acting on a particle (net force) determines the rate of change in the momentum of the particle (motion). Therefore, we should consider the work done by all forces acting on a particle, or the net work, to see its effect on the particle’s motion.
The work-energy theorem equates work done by all the forces on an object to the change in its kinetic energy. The theorem can be used to calculate work done by a force...
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Energy Budgets00:51

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Organisms must balance energy intake with the energy required for growth, maintenance and reproduction. These trade-offs result in a variety of survivorship and reproductive strategies, including semelparity and iteroparity. Semelparous species, like annual plants, have only one reproductive episode in their lifetimes and consequently have short lifespans. Iteroparous species, by contrast, have many reproductive events during their lifetimes but have relatively few offspring. These two...
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Efficiency of The Carnot Cycle01:16

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The hypothetical Carnot cycle consists of an ideal gas subjected to two isothermal and two adiabatic processes. Since the internal energy of an ideal gas depends only on its temperature, which is the same before and after the completion of the Carnot cycle, there is no change in its internal energy. Hence, using the first law of thermodynamics, the total heat exchanged by the ideal gas equals the total work done. Thus, we can quantify the efficiency of the Carnot cycle via the heat exchanged...
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Work and Energy for Variable Forces01:10

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When an object is acted upon by a variable force, the amount of work done and the change in energy of the object can be more complex to calculate compared to when a constant force is applied. Work is the product of force and displacement, while energy is the capacity of a system to do work. When a constant force is applied to an object, the work done can be calculated as the product of the force and the distance moved in the direction of the force. However, when a variable force is applied, the...
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Related Experiment Video

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Author Spotlight: Understanding Riverine Nitrogen Impacts and Primary Productivity for Effective Nutrient Management
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Author Spotlight: Understanding Riverine Nitrogen Impacts and Primary Productivity for Effective Nutrient Management

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Material and energy productivity.

Julia K Steinberger1, Fridolin Krausmann

  • 1Institute of Social Ecology Vienna (IFF, University of Klagenfurt), Schottenfelgasse 29, A-1070, Vienna, Austria. julias@alum.mit.edu

Environmental Science & Technology
|January 8, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Resource productivity, a common sustainability indicator, may not accurately reflect economic efficiency. Different resource types behave uniquely with economic growth, challenging its interpretation as a reliable measure of sustainability.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental economics
  • Ecological economics
  • Sustainability science

Background:

  • Resource productivity (GDP per resource input) is a key indicator for sustainability.
  • High resource productivity is often equated with resource efficiency and economic sustainability.
  • Its inverse, resource intensity (resource per GDP), indicates economic inefficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the global relationship between material, energy, and carbon productivities and economic activity.
  • To analyze how different resource types influence overall resource productivity.
  • To question the interpretation of resource productivity as a sole sustainability indicator.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of global data on resource consumption and economic activity.
  • Examination of income elasticities of consumption for various materials and energy types.
  • Statistical correlation of resource productivities with economic indicators.

Main Results:

  • Different resources exhibit distinct relationships with economic activity, driven by income elasticity.
  • Biomass consumption is income-inelastic, while fossil fuels are income-elastic.
  • Aggregated resource productivities are significantly correlated with income due to the influence of elastic resource shares.

Conclusions:

  • The interpretation of resource productivity as a straightforward sustainability indicator is questionable.
  • The varying income elasticities of different resources complicate the assessment of resource efficiency.
  • Alternative indicators may be needed to accurately gauge economic and environmental sustainability.