Final answer:
The majority of solar energy reaching a forest canopy is converted into short wave heat, with a portion used by primary producers like plants and algae for photosynthesis, leaving the net primary productivity for consumers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most of the energy contained in the sun's rays of photosynthetically usable wavelengths reaching a forest canopy is converted into short wave heat. A notable portion of the incoming solar energy is absorbed by the leaves, branches, and top soil, consequently heating them. While primary producers, such as plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria, use sunlight to create chemical energy through photosynthesis, not all of the captured sunlight is used for this process. Much of it is reflected or lost as heat due to the inefficiency of the conversion process. Therefore, the net primary productivity—which is the energy left after accounting for the energy used in metabolic processes and lost as heat by these producers—will be available to primary consumers in the ecosystem.