Only about $10\; \%$ is stored at higher trophic level and the remaining $90\; \%$ is lost in respiration, decomposition and waste in the form of heat. Suppose $2000 \mathrm{~J}$ of solar energy is incident on green vegetation. The latter having about $1\; \%$ efficiency, trap about $20 \mathrm{~J}$ of energy and convent it into chemical energy by photosynthesis. The remaining $1980$ j would be lost to the environment. The herbivore that feed on producers get $10\; \%$ of the energy stored in plants, $i.e,$ $2 \mathrm{~J}$. The remaining $18 \mathrm{~J}$ are lost to the environment. Carnivores feeding on herbivores would be able to store only $0.2 \mathrm{~J}$ of energy as flow