Dave Taylor's African Safari: Trophic Level I: The Producers - Biomass

Trophic Level I: The Producers
Biomass
Page 2

Summary

The living weight of a region is called its biomass (bio = living, mass = weight). This figure is important for ecologists to know because it allows them to compare the productivity of one ecosystem with another. By understanding the abiotic factors, which determine the amount of energy available to a system, it is possible to predict, for example, that an ecosystem on or near the Equator would have a higher biomass than one in the temperate climate of North America.

This means that the biomass of the North American Great Plains is less than that of the Serengeti-Mara. Likewise, the biomass of the tundra would be less than either of these.

The amount of rainfall also effects biomass. The greater the rainfall, the larger the biomass of an area. Altitude and surrounding geological features would also have an impact on a region’s biomass. Thus, the warm, moist, rain forests on the Equator have a greater biomass than the drier grasslands at the same latitude. Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak has a very low biomass because it is so high.

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