Net primary productivity (NPP), the net amount of solar energy converted to plant organic matter through photosynthesis, can be measured in units of elemental carbon and represents the primary food energy source for the
world's ecosystems. Human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP), through the consumption of food, paper, wood and fiber, alters the composition of the atmosphere, levels of biodiversity, energy flows within food webs and the provision of important ecosystem services. This dataset represents a digital map of HANPP as a percentage of NPP, identifying regions in which human consumption of NPP is greatly in excess of production by local ecosystems. The dataset is distributed by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).
