Primary productivity varies from ecosyst | Class 12 Biology Chapter Ecosystem, Ecosystem NCERT Solutions

Productivity refers to the rate of formation of biomass in an ecosystem and is usually expressed in the unit of mass per unit area per unit time. Productivity is different from biomass as productivity is the rate at which organic matter is created by the producers whereas biomass is the amount of organic matter present at any given time which is generally expressed in wet and dry terms. Primary productivity refers to the rate at which biomass is produced per unit area by the primary producers; it can be expressed as grams of carbon assimilated and dry weight of organic matter and their energy equivalents. It is a fundamental ecosystem process which shows capture, storage and transfer of energy in an ecosystem. It varies from ecosystem to ecosystem because biomass production only depends on the producers and their photosynthetic activity and various environmental factors.