Knowra Biomass Biomass Biomass is the total mass of living biological material in a defined area or volume at a given time. It can be measured for organisms, populations, ecosystems, or regions.
Primary production : The rate at which producers create organic matter from inorganic substances, usually through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Production adds new material to the biomass measured in an ecosystem.
Net primary productivity : The rate at which plants and other primary producers accumulate organic matter after subtracting their own respiration. It measures the biomass available for growth and consumption after producers meet their energy needs.
Forest inventory : The systematic measurement of forest attributes, including tree number, size, species, and condition. Inventories use tree measurements to estimate forest biomass across landscapes.
Biomass carbon density : The amount of carbon contained in living biomass per unit area or volume. It translates vegetation mass into a measure useful for comparing ecosystem carbon stores.
Trophic level : A position in a food chain or food web determined by how an organism obtains energy. Biomass is distributed unevenly among feeding positions in an ecosystem.
Decomposition : The breakdown of dead organic matter into simpler substances by organisms and physical processes. Decomposition removes dead material from living biomass and returns nutrients to ecosystems.
Remote sensing : The collection of information about Earth's surface without direct physical contact, often using satellites or aircraft. Satellite and airborne observations help map biomass over large or inaccessible areas.
Carbon cycle : The movement of carbon among organisms, the atmosphere, oceans, soils, and rocks. Changes in biomass move carbon between living organisms and other carbon pools.
Dry matter : The mass of material remaining after water has been removed from a sample. Ecological biomass is often reported as dry mass to make samples comparable.
Ecological efficiency : The proportion of energy or production transferred from one trophic level to the next. Transfer losses help explain why consumer biomass is often lower than producer biomass.
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