theme for a fantasy campaign

whswhs · 05-07-2013, 09:39 AM

Checking Eugene Odum's Fundamentals of Ecology, I find the following:

Jungle and Woodland ecosystems: Mean net primary productivity ranges from 700 to 2200 grams of carbon per square meter per year
Grasslands: 600 to 900
Tundra and alpine: 140
Desert and semidesert shrub: 90
Lake and stream: 250/Swamp and marsh: 2000/Cultivated land: 650
Estuaries: 1500/Algal beds and reefs: 2500

Of course, two other factors enter into population size: relative ease of exploitation of productivity, and body size (metabolic rate tends to be proportional to body surface area, not to body mass; in GURPS terms I suppose this would mean metabolic rate was proportional to the square of ST)

Bill Stoddard

05-07-2013, 09:39 AM	#11
whswhs Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS	Re: theme for a fantasy campaign Checking Eugene Odum's Fundamentals of Ecology, I find the following: Jungle and Woodland ecosystems: Mean net primary productivity ranges from 700 to 2200 grams of carbon per square meter per year Grasslands: 600 to 900 Tundra and alpine: 140 Desert and semidesert shrub: 90 Lake and stream: 250/Swamp and marsh: 2000/Cultivated land: 650 Estuaries: 1500/Algal beds and reefs: 2500 Of course, two other factors enter into population size: relative ease of exploitation of productivity, and body size (metabolic rate tends to be proportional to body surface area, not to body mass; in GURPS terms I suppose this would mean metabolic rate was proportional to the square of ST) Bill Stoddard