Hello,

Biomass is the total mass of living organisms within an ecosystem, including animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It is crucial in ecology as it represents the amount of living matter available to support other organisms in the food chain and food web, as well as to transfer energy through the ecosystem. The food pyramid represents the flow of energy and nutrients through the ecosystem, with primary producers at the base and higher trophic levels at the top. The pyramid shape reflects the decrease in biomass and energy as trophic levels move up, as energy is lost through metabolic processes or inefficiencies.

The energy pyramid represents the amount of energy available at each trophic level, as energy is lost as organisms move up the food chain or web. The amount of biomass at each trophic level is directly related to the energy available to the next trophic level. Biomass plays a critical role in the functioning of ecosystems, as it represents the total living matter available to support other organisms and transfer energy through the ecosystem. Understanding the biomass present at each trophic level is essential for understanding the dynamics of food chains, food webs, and energy flow in an ecosystem.

Dr Homa Behmadi thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Biomass is the energy in living organisms. Autotrophs, the producers in a food web, convert the sun's energy into biomass. Biomass decreases with each trophic level. There is always more biomass in lower trophic levels than in higher ones. A biomass pyramid is the representation of total living biomass or organic matter present at different trophic levels in an ecosystem. Biomass is calculated as the mass of living organisms present at each trophic level in a given sample size. It can be represented as dry weight in grams or calories per unit area. A pyramid of energy shows the relative amount of energy available at each trophic level of a food chain or web. On average, about 10 percent of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to the next level. Pyramid of biomass shows the amount of biomass at each trophic level in an ecosystem while pyramid of energy shows the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem. This is the key difference between pyramid of biomass and pyramid of energy. The food pyramid is an ecological hierarchy of food interactions in which the apex predator is at the top, each level preys on the next lower level, and the bottom level is generally green vegetation. A food chain outlines who eats whom. A food web is all of the food chains in an ecosystem. Each organism in an ecosystem occupies a specific trophic level or position in the food chain or web. Producers, who make their own food using photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, make up the bottom of the trophic pyramid. Pyramids of number show the number of organisms at each stage in a food chain. Pyramids of biomass show the mass of organisms at each stage in a food chain. Biomass decreases with each trophic level. There is always more biomass in lower trophic levels than in higher ones. Because biomass decreases with each trophic level, there are always more autotrophs than herbivores in a healthy food web. There are more herbivores than carnivores. An energy pyramid, also known as a trophic or ecological pyramid, is a graphical representation of the energy found within the trophic levels of an ecosystem. The bottom and largest level of the pyramid is the producers and contains the largest amount of energy. The energy flow in the ecosystem is important to maintain an ecological balance. The producers synthesize food by the process of photosynthesis. A part of the energy is stored within the plants. The remaining energy is utilized by the plants in their growth and development. Source of energy in an ecosystem is sun. The solar energy is trapped by green plants and converted into biologically useful form i.e., carbohydrates. All the consumers depend either directly or indirectly on green plants for nutrition.