Energy flow through an ecosystem is one way give reason

The next level up in the food chain/energy pyramid would be considered the second trophic level, which is usually occupied by a type of primary consumer like an herbivore that eats plants or algae. Each subsequent step in the food chain is equivalent to a new trophic level. Terms to Know for Energy Flow in Ecosystems Net primary productivity (NPP): NPP also measures how much chemical energy is generated by primary producers, but it also takes into account the energy lost due to metabolic needs by the producers themselves. So, NPP is the rate at which the energy from the sun is captured and stored as biomass matter, and it's equal to the amount available energy to the other organisms in the ecosystem. NPP is always a lower amount than GPP. Energy enters ecosystems as sunlight and is transformed into usable chemical energy by producers such as land plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria. Once this energy enters the ecosystem via photosynthesis and is converted into biomass by those producers, energy flows through the food chain when organisms eat other organisms. As you move up trophic levels and continue along the food chain, energy flow is not 100 percent efficient. Only about 10 percent of the available energy makes it from one trophic level to the next trophic level, or from one organism to the next. The rest of that available energy (about 90 percent of that energy) is lost as heat. 1. Not all organisms from each trophic level are consumed: Think of it this way: the ...

• The Sun is the most important source of energy in any ecosystem. • Green plants of the ecosystem store some amount of solar energy in the form of food. • Before reaching the decomposers, this energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next. • Decomposers dissipate some amount of energy in the form of heat. • However, no part of the energy ever returns to the Sun. Hence, energy flow through an ecosystem is ‘one way’.

Step 1/5 1. Producers (plants) convert sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis. Step 2/5 2. Consumers (animals) eat the producers and obtain energy from the chemical bonds in their food. Step 3/5 3. Decomposers (bacteria and fungi) break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil.