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Ecological Niches

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.

Primary Production

Primary Production

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.

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.

Production Efficiency

Production Efficiency

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).

Competition

Competition

When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.

What is Biodiversity?

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity describes the variety of living things at multiple organizational levels: genetic, species and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity includes all branches of the evolutionary tree from single-celled prokaryotic organisms, bacteria, and archaea, to the eukaryotic kingdoms: plants; animals; fungi; and protists. To date, there have been about 1.75 million species identified, and new species are discovered every week.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 28, 2026

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

Published on: March 21, 2025

Explaining Productivity Differences Among Tree Species via Biotic and Abiotic Factors.

Liyang Tong^1,2, Kai Chen^1,2, Xiahuan Zhan³

¹College of Materials and Energy Engineering, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, China.

Life (Basel, Switzerland)

|February 27, 2026

Summary

This study reveals that Pinus massoniana has higher biomass than Cunninghamia lanceolata. Forest management should consider local conditions and species-specific responses to climate and biodiversity for effective afforestation.

Keywords:

Cunninghamia lanceolata Pinus massoniana biodiversity biomass climate change forest management forest structure

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Last Updated: Feb 28, 2026

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Published on: March 21, 2025

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Development of an Individual-Tree Basal Area Increment Model using a Linear Mixed-Effects Approach

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Published on: July 3, 2020

Area of Science:

Forestry
Ecology
Climate Change Mitigation

Background:

Human-emitted greenhouse gases drive global climate change.
Afforestation with species like Cunninghamia lanceolata and Pinus massoniana is a key strategy for carbon sequestration.
Understanding factors influencing these species' productivity is crucial for effective forest management.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the differential effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the productivity of Cunninghamia lanceolata and Pinus massoniana.
To clarify the mechanisms underlying forest productivity in response to climate, topography, biodiversity, and forest structure.
To provide insights for optimizing afforestation strategies in southern China.

Main Methods:

Utilized forest inventory data from Lishui City.
Employed the Biomod2 model to predict species distribution and identify key climatic factors.
Integrated Biomod2 with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze causal relationships between ecological factors and tree productivity.

Main Results:

Pinus massoniana exhibited significantly higher biomass (384.67 kg) than Cunninghamia lanceolata (211.07 kg) at the same diameter at breast height.
Dominant climatic factors influencing C. lanceolata productivity differed from those affecting P. massoniana.
Biodiversity and forest growth were key biotic factors for C. lanceolata, while structural diversity and growth were critical for P. massoniana.

Conclusions:

Forest management practices should tailor species selection to local environmental conditions.
Biodiversity and structural diversity have stage-dependent effects on tree productivity, influencing early and late growth phases.
The findings highlight the importance of considering species-specific responses and ecological interactions for successful afforestation and climate change mitigation.