Productivity

Energy flow and Productivity
Have you ever wondered what would happen if all the plants on Earth disappeared (along with other photosynthesizes, like algae and bacteria)?
Well, our beautiful planet would definitely look barren and sad. We would also lose our main source of oxygen (that important stuff we breathe and rely on for metabolism). Carbon dioxide would no longer be cleaned out of the air, and as it trapped heat, Earth might warm up fast. Almost every living thing on Earth would eventually run out of food and die. If the plants or other producers of an ecosystem were removed, there would be no way for energy to enter the food web, and the ecological community would collapse. That s because energy isn t recycled: instead, it s dissipated as heat as it moves through the ecosystem, and must be constantly replenished.

Productivity
Productivity refers to rate at energy is accumulated by an individual organism, population, community or ecosystem during unit time in the form of organic substance that can be used as food.