Productivity (ecology)

Understanding ecological productivity is vital because it provides insights into how ecosystems function and the extent to which they can support life.

Organisms that rely on light energy to fix carbon, and thus participate in primary production, are referred to as photoautotrophs.

[8] Eukaryotic organisms gained the ability to participate in photosynthesis through the development of plastids derived from endosymbiotic relationships.

[10] The productivity of plants, while being photoautotrophs, is also dependent on factors such as salinity and abiotic stressors from the surrounding environment.

[11] The rest of the eukaryotic photoautotrophic organisms are within the SAR clade (Comprising Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria).

[12] The SAR clade includes many aquatic and marine primary producers such as Kelp, Diatoms, and Dinoflagellates.

This is driven by the transfer of organic material between trophic levels, and represents the quantity of new tissue created through the use of assimilated food.

[citation needed] The connection between plant productivity and biodiversity is a significant topic in ecology, although it has been controversial for decades.

Both productivity and species diversity are constricted by other variables such as climate, ecosystem type, and land use intensity.

Examples of these activities include habitat modification, freshwater consumption, an increase in nutrients due to fertilizers, and many others.