How do you calculate the photosynthetic efficiency ..the % of solar energy reaching vegetation in an ecosystem that is converted to GPP ???
I know the amount of sol energy, GPP, NPP etc... is it the GPP divided by the energy reaching the amount of solar energy perhaps ???
Thanks
Recent literature indicates a great growing controversy in this. The problem is that "solar" energy includes many wavelength the plant does not use. Including that energy may not be appropriate. The LED illumination for plants greatly reduces the illumination, but the plant converts it to energy remarkably well. So what the future brings in this, I cannot predict.
Traditionally, GPP/Solar energy is estimate of conversion efficiency. However, measuring it is another matter. One has to assume dark and light respiration is the same to use GPP.
Bob,
Thank you very much.. !!
Snail
To calculate the photosynthetic efficiency, which is the percentage of solar energy reaching vegetation in an ecosystem that is converted to GPP (Gross Primary Productivity), you can use the following formula:
Photosynthetic Efficiency (%) = (GPP / Solar Energy) * 100
GPP refers to the total amount of energy that plants capture through photosynthesis, while solar energy refers to the amount of sunlight energy reaching the vegetation in the ecosystem.
However, it's important to note that there is currently a growing controversy around this calculation. The issue arises because solar energy includes many wavelengths that plants do not use for photosynthesis. Therefore, including all of the solar energy in the calculation may not be appropriate. In recent studies, researchers have found that using LED illumination for plants significantly reduces the amount of illumination needed, but plants still convert it to energy efficiently. This adds more complexity to accurately determining photosynthetic efficiency.
Additionally, measuring photosynthetic efficiency is not a straightforward task. It often requires making assumptions, such as assuming that dark and light respiration rates are the same, to estimate GPP accurately.
As the field of research progresses, new methods and approaches may emerge, and the future of calculating photosynthetic efficiency may change.