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Photosynthesis & Ecosystem Productivity

Interactive 3D simulation of GPP and NPP in a plant canopy: adjust light, CO2 and temperature and switch between C3, C4 and CAM photosynthetic pathways to see how each responds across a day/night cycle.

Ecology & Conservation Biology3DModerate60 FPS

Gross and net primary production (GPP/NPP) — the carbon an ecosystem captures and the fraction it actually keeps after respiration — depend on light, CO₂ and temperature in ways that differ sharply between the three plant photosynthetic pathways. This simulation drives a canopy of leaf clusters through a day/night cycle and lets you compare how C3, C4 and CAM plants turn the same environment into very different productivity curves, the same signal that satellite NDVI and eddy-covariance towers measure in real ecosystems.

⚙ Under the hood

Drive a canopy of leaf clusters through a day/night cycle and compare how C3, C4 and CAM plants convert light, CO2 and temperature into gross and net primary production (GPP/NPP).

Three.jsphotosynthesisGPP/NPPC3/C4/CAMecologyday-night cycle

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install