biomass

Examples of biomass in the following topics:

• Abiotic Factors Influencing Plant Growth

  • This means that a large percentage of plant biomass which exists underground is not included in this measurement.
  • Very productive biomes have a high level of aboveground biomass.
  • Annual biomass production is directly related to the abiotic components of the environment.
  • Conversely, dry and cold environments have lower photosynthetic rates and, therefore, less biomass.
  • However, warm and wet climates have the greatest amount of annual biomass production.

• Ecological Pyramids

  • Ecological pyramids, which can be inverted or upright, depict biomass, energy, and the number of organisms in each trophic level.
  • Another way to visualize ecosystem structure is with pyramids of biomass.
  • The plants (primary producers) of the Silver Springs ecosystem make up a large percentage of the biomass found there.
  • However, the phytoplankton in the English Channel example make up less biomass than the primary consumers, the zooplankton.
  • Ecological pyramids depict the (a) biomass, (b) number of organisms, and (c) energy in each trophic level.

• Productivity within Trophic Levels

  • Productivity, measured by gross and net primary productivity, is defined as the amount of energy that is incorporated into a biomass.
  • Productivity within an ecosystem can be defined as the percentage of energy entering the ecosystem incorporated into biomass in a particular trophic level.
  • Biomass is the total mass in a unit area (at the time of measurement) of living or previously-living organisms within a trophic level.
  • Ecosystems have characteristic amounts of biomass at each trophic level.
  • For example, in the English Channel ecosystem, the primary producers account for a biomass of 4 g/m2 (grams per meter squared), while the primary consumers exhibit a biomass of 21 g/m2.

• Boreal Forests and Arctic Tundra

  • The aboveground biomass of boreal forests is high because these slow-growing tree species are long-lived, accumulating standing biomass over time.
  • There is little species diversity, low net primary productivity, and low aboveground biomass.

• Transferring of Energy between Trophic Levels

  • Net production efficiency (NPE) allows ecologists to quantify how efficiently organisms of a particular trophic level incorporate the energy they receive into biomass.
  • Assimilation is the biomass (energy content generated per unit area) of the present trophic level after accounting for the energy lost due to incomplete ingestion of food, energy used for respiration, and energy lost as waste.
  • Thus, NPE measures how efficiently each trophic level uses and incorporates the energy from its food into biomass to fuel the next trophic level.

• Protists as Primary Producers, Food Sources, and Symbionts

  • Some protist species are essential components of the food chain and are generators of biomass.

• Genomics and Biofuels

  • For microbial biomass breakdown, many candidates have already been identified.

• Uses of Genome Sequences

  • In addition to disease and medicine, genomics can contribute to the development of novel enzymes that convert biomass to biofuel, which results in higher crop and fuel production, and lower cost to the consumer.

• Introduction to Ecology

  • Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and produce natural capital, such as biomass production (food, fuel, fiber and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value.

• Tropical Wet Forest and Savannas

  • Therefore, the extensive biomass present in the tropical wet forest leads to plant communities with very high species diversity .