What is Ecological Productivity?
One of the most important property of an ecosystem is its productivity, which is a measure of the rate of incorporation of energy by plants per unit area per unit time. Normally ecologists compare ecological productivity with total annual plant growth and biomass in a particular ecosystem. So it can also be related to the organic fertility of the respective area.
The cycle of ecological productivity starts with a process known as photosynthesis, where plants absorb carbon dioxide in the presence of sun light and produce their food (biomass). Ecological productivity is also measured with respect to production efficiency in an ecosystem. Production efficiency is calculated as the ratio of net primary production to gross primary production. The other factors which influence ecological productivity are rainfall, temperature, humidity, altitude, light intensity etc.
What is Ecological Integrity?
Ecological integrity is a measure of how intact or complete an ecosystem is? Human activities in an ecosystem incorporates many changes in the local environment, which can benefit some species, communities and ecological processes, which can have degrading effects on others. Ecological integrity is the response of all these changes, improvements and degradations.
Factors responsible for High Ecological Integrity:
It has been found in some scientific experiments that high ecological integrity is observed in systems that
- Have biodiversity
- Are resilient and resistant to changes in environmental stress.
- Are structurally and functionally complex
- Have large number of species and higher order predators present
- Have controlled natural, biological and nutrient cycles
- Have higher efficiency of energy use and transfer of energy
Ecological integrity is required for sustainable economic growth and is needed to sustain our native species in their natural ecosystem, though humans will be continuously exploiting the resources of biosphere.