Key Terms

Here are the definitions to a few terms used throughout our website and resort:

Biome - A major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate
Gross Productivity - A measure of the rate at which energy is assimilated by the organisms in a trophic level, a community, or an ecosystem
Net Productivity - The amount of energy stored in chemical compounds or the increase in biomass over a particular period of time
Primary Productivity - The amount of biomass produced through photosynthesis per unit area and time by plants 
Secondary Productivity - The rate of increase in the biomass of heterotrophs per unit time and area
Gross Primary Productivity - The total energy fixed by plants in a community through photosynthesis
Net Primary Productivity - Gross Primary Productivity that accounts for respiration