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Get plant biomass data for your AOIs
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Plant biomass refers to the total amount (volume or mass) of organic matter produced by plants [Houghton et al. 2009]. Plant biomass is mostly made-up of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, with carbon typically being >10x more abundant than nitrogen and >100x more abundant than phosphorus [Chen & Chen 2021]. Plant biomass can be quantified for any plant species at any scale of biological organisation, from a tissue/organ, to an individual, to a multi-species community. In practice, plant biomass is most commonly split into four categories:
<aside> <img src="/icons/warning_gray.svg" alt="/icons/warning_gray.svg" width="40px" /> A minority of frameworks do not consider litter or deadwood to be biomass because they are non-living.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Biomass is of foundational importance to ecosystems, in that it is not highly informative on its own but influences concepts of direct value to nature teams.
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Plant biomass is a stock of organic matter — primarily carbon — so it influences facets of nature that depend simply on its physical existence. Examples include carbon stocks, crop yields, soil/snow/water retention, nesting bird diversity, etc.
Plant biomass is also an engine for physiological processes so it influences ecosystem processes [Aerts & Honnay 2011]. Examples include evapotranspiration, net primary production, plant growth, soil decomposition, soil carbon stocks, etc.
We anticipate that most data teams measure plant biomass as an input parameter to calculate or model other concepts of direct value to business operations, such as risk, CO₂ fluxes, etc.
<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_gray.svg" width="40px" /> Below are non-exhaustive lists of how plant biomass depends on and influences other concepts. Linked concepts can be existing or anticipated concepts, or may be concepts that are important but never actually operationalised.
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| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| PAR (light) | Strong positive link between photosynthetically active radiation (light) and biomass accumulation |
| Temperature | Strong positive link between temperature and biomass accumulation |
| Precipitation | Plants need H₂O for photosynthesis; plants under drought close stomata to prevent water loss (stops photosynthesis); rainfall does not always increase water availability |
| Topography | Steep slopes are hard to anchor roots into; topography drives mass flows (rockfall, soil erosion, avalanches, etc.) that destroy biomass |
| Net primary production | Net primary production is the process of biomass accumulation through photosynthesis |
| Plant growth | Akin to NPP, plant growth is the process of biomass accumulation |
| Soil moisture | Plants get H₂O for photosynthesis from soil; plants under drought close stomata to prevent water loss (stops photosynthesis) |
| Soil nutrient stocks | Plants get all macro- (NPK) and micro-nutrients from soil |
| Plant diversity | Different species grow to different sizes and have different proportions of aboveground vs belowground biomass; most variation is among functional types (e.g. trees versus grasses) |
| Animal diversity | Strong links between some animal groups (e.g. pollinators, ecosystem engineers) and biomass in some ecosystems; hard to separate from general ecosystem health effects |
| Soil diversity | Plant biomass can be lower when soil diversity is impoverished; usually limited to specific microbial groups (e.g. mycorrhiza); jury still out |
| Herbivory | Mammal and insect herbivores consume plant biomass; particularly important in grazed farmland |
| Harvesting | Periodic harvesting of biomass as yield (crops, timber, fruit) is common in managed parcels |
| Concept | Details |
|---|---|
| Avalanche risk | Limited to snowy biomes on 30º+ slopes; plant biomass is a physical avalanche barrier |
| Soil erosion | Landscape dependent; root biomass is a physical barrier that inhibits water-borne soil erosion |
| Landslide risk | Limited to steep slopes; root biomass is a physical barrier that stabilises the soil, inhibiting landslides |
| Flood risk | Landscape dependent; plant biomass is a physical barrier to and physiological user of water, which slows catchment discharge |
| Crop yield | Crop yield is derived from plant biomass |
| NPP | Plant biomass is the engine for plant physiology, so more biomass = more net primary production |
| Photosynthesis (GPP) | Plant biomass is the engine for plant physiology, so more biomass = more photosynthesis |
| Plant growth | Plant biomass is the engine for plant physiology, so more biomass = higher rates of plant growth |
| Evapotranspiration | Plant biomass is the engine for plant physiology, so more biomass = more evapotranspiration |
| Soil nutrient stocks | Plants get all macro- (NPK) and micro-nutrients from soil, so more plant biomass = less nutrients; relationship can be absent or reversed if soil biomass is high and is not nutrient limited |
| Soil carbon stock | Plant biomass is the main source of soil carbon; but relationship is complex because soil carbon is a mix of new litter, old litter (usually < 100 years) and recycled organic matter (can be 1000+ years) |
| Soil decomposition | Soil decomposers consume litter biomass, so more biomass = more decomposition; decomposers use root exudates as energy for decomposition and more biomass = more exudates |
| Soil CO₂ efflux | Soil CO₂ efflux is root respiration plus microbial respiration; more biomass = more root respiration, and more biomass = more decomposition = more microbial respiration |
| Soil moisture | Plants get H₂O for photosynthesis from soil, so more biomass = lower soil moisture; caveat is that biomass shades the soil surface and can inhibit evaporation |
| Soil biomass | Plant biomass is the primary source of carbon for soil microbes; but soil microbial biomass is more influenced by microclimate and soil carbon stock |
| Plant diversity | Highly context dependent; plant biomass can lower plant diversity because competition for space, light, nutrients, etc., is higher |
| Animal diversity | Context dependent; plant biomass provides habitat for animal species (e.g. nests, burrows, etc.) — but possibly more a function of habitat structure |
| Animal biomass | Plant biomass is the primary source of carbon for the whole food web; but relationship is complicated by food web dynamics, animal mobility, etc. |