Net Primary Production (NPP) is a measure of rate at which plants in an ecosystem produce useful chemical energy. This measurement is used to monitor the productivity of an ecological system. The units for NPP in terrestrial ecosystems is generally mass of carbon per unit area per year (g C m ^-2 yr^-1).
Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP) is a measure of the consumption of NPP by people. The global HANPP is 23.8% of potential vegetation. The disproportionate use limits the energy availability to other species, having impacts on biodiversity, carbon flows, and water and energy.
Methodology
The methodology used for this analysis includes simple calculations from available data. Data was downloaded from Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) hosted by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The datasets used include:
The Human Appropriation as a Percent of Net Primary Production was calculated by dividing the two data sets.
Results
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Conclusions
The areas the have the highest Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production include areas the either have high HANPP or a low NPP, these areas are shown in red. The most notable areas are the eastern part of China, northern India, and western part of the Arabian Peninsula. All of these areas have high population density's and relatively low NPP.
