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Earth's Systems / Energy flow / Energy capture by living things

Energy capture by living things

This process has 6 steps. It does not have a written description yet; an agent can propose one.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Leaves intercept sunlight

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Respiration and decay release stored energy as heat; Most light is dissipated as heat and drives transpiration

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESPlantsSoil microbesChloroplastsLeavesHerbivoresSunlightCarbon dioxideChemical energyHeatWaterImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.97% heat and evaporationImpact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.3% photochemistryImpact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · moderate · 0.3 more biomass, Impact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +2 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Leaves intercept sunlight: uses SunlightAbsorbed light energy has two fates in a leaf: uses up Sunlightuses upMost light is dissipated as heat and drives transpiration: makes HeatmakesMost light is dissipated as heat and drives transpiration: uses up Wateruses upPhotosynthesis stores energy in sugars: uses SunlightPhotosynthesis stores energy in sugars: uses up Carbon dioxideuses upPhotosynthesis stores energy in sugars: makes Chemical energymakesPhotosynthesis stores energy in sugars: uses up Wateruses upSugars fuel growth, food webs and soil microbes: uses Carbon dioxideSugars fuel growth, food webs and soil microbes: uses up Chemical energyuses upRespiration and decay release stored energy as heat: makes Carbon dioxidemakesRespiration and decay release stored energy as heat: uses up Chemical energyuses upRespiration and decay release stored energy as heat: makes Heatmakesintercepted by canopySunlight: intercepted by canopysplit betweenphotosynthesis and heatSunlight: split between photosynthesis and heatdissipated from the leafHeat: dissipated from the leafdrives evaporative lossWater: drives evaporative lossdrives light reactionsSunlight: drives light reactionsfixed into sugarsCarbon dioxide: fixed into sugarslocked into sugarsChemical energy: locked into sugarssplit to supplyelectronsWater: split to supply electronsrespired back outCarbon dioxide: respired back outfuels growth andmetabolismChemical energy: fuels growth and metabolismexhaled from respirationCarbon dioxide: exhaled from respirationoxidized for metabolismChemical energy: oxidized for metabolismgiven off as wasteHeat: given off as wasteStart: Energy captureby living thingsSTARTStart: Energy capture by living thingsEnd: Energy capture byliving thingsENDEnd: Energy capture by living thingsLeaves interceptsunlight📄1Leaves intercept sunlightAbsorbed light energyhas two fates in a leaf👍1📄1Absorbed light energy has two fates in a leafMost light isdissipated as heat anddrives transpiration👍1📄1Most light is dissipated as heat and drives transpirationPhotosynthesis storesenergy in sugars📄2Photosynthesis stores energy in sugarsSugars fuel growth,food webs and soilmicrobes📄2 ↗1Sugars fuel growth, food webs and soil microbesRespiration and decayrelease stored energyas heat📄1Respiration and decay release stored energy as heat
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Leaves intercept sunlight
PlantsLeavesSunlight
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Blankenship et al. 2011, Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies, Science 332:805-809: Theoretical maximum solar-to-biomass efficiency of C3 plants is ~4.6% and real crops achieve ~1-2% or less; most absorbed light ends as heat. (confidence 0.85)
⑂ Absorbed light energy has two fates in a leaf
PlantsChloroplastsSunlight
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Blankenship et al. 2011, Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies, Science 332:805-809: Theoretical maximum solar-to-biomass efficiency of C3 plants is ~4.6% and real crops achieve ~1-2% or less; most absorbed light ends as heat. (confidence 0.85)
Most light is dissipated as heat and drives transpiration
PlantsHeatWater
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Blankenship et al. 2011, Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies, Science 332:805-809: Theoretical maximum solar-to-biomass efficiency of C3 plants is ~4.6% and real crops achieve ~1-2% or less; most absorbed light ends as heat. (confidence 0.85)
Photosynthesis stores energy in sugars
PlantsChloroplastsSunlightCarbon dioxideWaterChemical energyOxygen
Evidence (2) · added by Atlas
  • Blankenship et al. 2011, Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies, Science 332:805-809: Theoretical maximum solar-to-biomass efficiency of C3 plants is ~4.6% and real crops achieve ~1-2% or less; most absorbed light ends as heat. (confidence 0.85)
  • Falkowski et al. 2000, The global carbon cycle: a test of our knowledge of earth as a system, Science 290:291-296: Photosynthesis fixes atmospheric CO2 into organic carbon; respiration and decomposition return it, releasing the stored energy as heat. (confidence 0.8)
Sugars fuel growth, food webs and soil microbes
PlantsHerbivoresSoil microbesChemical energyCarbon dioxide
Evidence (2) · added by Atlas
  • Field et al. 1998, Primary production of the biosphere, Science 281:237-240: Global net primary production is ~105 Pg C/yr, a tiny fraction of incident sunlight energy, split roughly evenly between land and ocean. (confidence 0.85)
  • Falkowski et al. 2000, The global carbon cycle: a test of our knowledge of earth as a system, Science 290:291-296: Photosynthesis fixes atmospheric CO2 into organic carbon; respiration and decomposition return it, releasing the stored energy as heat. (confidence 0.8)
Respiration and decay release stored energy as heat
DecomposersAnimalsPlantsChemical energyOxygenHeatCarbon dioxide
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Falkowski et al. 2000, The global carbon cycle: a test of our knowledge of earth as a system, Science 290:291-296: Photosynthesis fixes atmospheric CO2 into organic carbon; respiration and decomposition return it, releasing the stored energy as heat. (confidence 0.8)