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Information about Biomass (ecology)

For the eco-industrial use of the term, which includes dead material used for biofuels, see biomass
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An Antarctic krill, and Zooplankton are in Biomass aswell whose species comprises roughly 0.66% of the Earth's biomass, the highest of any single animal species.[1]


In ecology, biomass refers to the cumulation of life that is possibly living matter.[2] That is, it is the total living biologica (usually measured per square metre or square kilometre). This means that only 30% of the weight of any creature is counted, the rest being water.

The most successful animal, in terms of biomass, is the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, with a biomass of probably over 500 million tons, roughly twice the total biomass of humans. The entire earth contains about 75 billion tons of biomass, or 0.00000000126% of the total mass of the Earth. Humans comprise about 250 million tons (0.33%) of the Earth's biomass, domesticated animals about 700 million (1.0%), and crops about 2 billion tons or 2.7% of the Earth's biomass. The total biomass of bacteria is estimated to equal that of plants [3].

Biomass may also be a measure of the dried organic mass of an ecosystem. As the trophic level increases, the biomass of each trophic level decreases. That is, producers (grass, trees, scrubs, etc.) have a much higher biomass than animals that consume them (deer, zebras, insects, etc.). The level with the least biomass is the highest predators in the food chain (foxes, eagles, etc.)

Biomass is also related to net primary productivity (NPP). Factors which limit NPP and thus mean biomass accumulates only slowly.

Factors which encourage NPP and thus tend to increase biomass are the converse of these.

See also

References

1. ^ Nicol, S., Endo, Y. (1997). Fisheries Technical Paper 367: Krill Fisheries of the World. FAO. 
2. ^ International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. "biomass". Compendium of Chemical Terminology Internet edition.
3. ^ Whitman, Coleman, and Wiebe, Prokaryotes: The unseen majority, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 95, pp. 6578–6583, June 1998

External links

Counting bacteria
For the use of the term in ecology, see .
Biomass refers to living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production.
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Ecology (also known as Oekologie, Okology, or Oekology[1],from Greek: οίκος, oikos, "household"; and λόγος, logos
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Life (Biota)

Domains and Kingdoms
  • Life on Earth (Gaeabionta)
  • Nanobes

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E. superba

Binomial name
Euphausia superba
Dana, 1850

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba[a]
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EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001. Their greatest hit, their debut single "time after time", peaked at #13 in the Oricon singles chart.
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Domestication refers to the process whereby a population of animals or plants becomes accustomed to human provision and control. Humans have brought these populations under their care for a wide range of reasons: to produce food or valuable commodities (such as wool, cotton, or
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Agriculture (from Agri Latin for ager ("a field"), and culture, from the Latin cultura "cultivation" in the strict sense of "tillage of the soil". A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field".
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ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all the non-living physical factors of the environment.
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In ecology, trophic dynamics is the system of trophic levels (Greek trophē, food) that describe the position that an organism occupies in a food chain - what it eats and what eats it.
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autotroph (from the Greek autos = self and trophe = nutrition) is an organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple inorganic molecules and an external source of energy, such as light or chemical reactions of inorganic compounds.
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heterotroph (Greek heterone = (an)other and trophe = nutrition) is an organism that requires organic substrates to get its carbon for growth and development. A heterotroph is known as a consumer in the food chain.
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predation describes a biological interaction where a predator organism feeds on another living organism or organisms known as prey.[1] Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them.
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Primary production is the production of organic compounds from atmospheric or aquatic carbon dioxide, principally through the process of photosynthesis, with chemosynthesis being much less important. All life on earth is directly or indirectly reliant on primary production.
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Biota is the total collection of organisms of a geographic region or a time period, from local geographic scales and instantaneous temporal scales all the way up to whole-planet and whole-timescale spatiotemporal scales. The biota of the Earth lives in the biosphere.
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An Ecological Pyramid (or Trophic pyramid) is a graphical representation designed to show the biomass or productivity at each trophic level in a given ecosystem. Biomass pyramids show the abundance or biomass of organisms at each trophic level, while productivity pyramids
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water mass is an identifiable body of water which has physical properties distinct from surrounding water. Properties include temperature, salinity, chemical - isotopic ratios, and other physical quantities.
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FAO emblem with its Latin motto, Fiat Panis
Org type: Specialized Agency
Acronyms: FAO
Head: Director General
Jacques Diouf
Status: active
Established: 16 October 1945

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The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) (IPA: [aɪ ju pæk]) is an international non-governmental organization established in 1919 devoted to the advancement of chemistry.
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Compendium of Chemical Terminology (ISBN 0-86542-684-8) is a book published by IUPAC containing internationally accepted definitions for terms in chemistry. Work on the first edition was initiated by Victor Gold, hence its informal name, the Gold Book.
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