Average net primary production of the Earth's major habitats

habitat net primary

production

(gram per

square metre

per year)

Forests

tropical 1,800

temperate 1,250

boreal 800

Other terrestrial habitats

swamp and marsh 2,500

savanna 700

cultivated land 650

shrubland 600

desert scrub 70

temperate grassland 500

tundra and alpine 140

Aquatic habitats

algal beds and reefs 2,000

estuaries 1,800

lakes and streams 500

continental shelf 360

open ocean 125

Source: Adapted from Robert E. Ricklefs, Ecology, 3rd edition (1990), by W.H. Freeman and Company, used with permission.