Which is the highest biomass in aquatic ecosystem and which ecosystem type has the highest productivity and the highest accumulation of biomass?
In aquatic ecosystems, particularly in marine environments, phytoplankton are often the primary producers with the highest biomass. Phytoplankton are microscopic algae that float in the water column and perform photosynthesis to produce organic matter. Due to their rapid growth rates and ability to take advantage of sunlight and nutrients in the water, phytoplankton can accumulate substantial biomass in certain regions, such as upwelling zones or nutrient-rich coastal areas.
As for ecosystem types with the highest productivity and accumulation of biomass:
It's important to note that the productivity and accumulation of biomass can vary based on factors such as nutrient availability, sunlight, water temperature, and local ecological conditions. Different ecosystems have evolved unique adaptations to optimize their productivity and biomass accumulation based on their specific environments.
Aquatic biomass is composed of diverse species of micro- and microalgae and aquatic plants. Interest in such feedstocks for conversion via hydrothermal processing has received considerable interest in the last decade.The biomass is maximum in a forest ecosystem because of their size and longevity of trees. Forest ecosystem has formed the most massive and complex ecosystems of the earth. Animals, protists, and bacteria together account for ≈80% of the marine biomass, whereas on land they comprise only ≈2%. Marine animals are dominated by small mesopelagic fish and crustaceans, mostly copepods, shrimp, and krill.Bacteria were one of the first life forms to appear on Earth, and classified as prokaryotes (nucleus-less). Today, they're the second-largest composition of biomass behind plants. Perhaps this is because these organisms can be found living literally everywhere—from your gut to deep in the Earth's crust. Certain bacterial species like Methylophilus methylotrophus, because of its high rate of biomass production and growth, can be expected to produce 25 tonnes of protein. Among the most widespread animals are humans. 6.9 billion People averaging 50kg each equals roughly 350 million tonnes. Staggeringly, cow biomass exceeds 650 million tonnes (1.3 billion cattle conservatively weighing 500kg each). The only wild species in the running is Antarctic Krill. It estimates that there is roughly 80 times more biomass on land than in the oceans. Terrestrial plants which comprise ∼80% of the total biomass on Earth make up most of this difference. In terrestrial ecosystems Tropical rain-forests show the highest productivity. In aquatic ecosystems, coral reefs have the highest productivity. Primary productivity in an ecosystem refers to the accumulation of energy in the form of biomass. Coral reefs have the highest productivity in aquatic ecosystems. In terrestrial ecosystems, tropical rainforests have the highest productivity. Biomass productivity is determined by dividing the biomass per unit area by the age of the forest ecosystem. Biomass productivity of plantations can be determined accurately but the biomass productivity of uneven or all age stands are estimates of questionable value because of the age variation encountered. The most productive aquatic ecosystems are shallow-water marine ecosystems where light is ample and autotrophs are multicellular with complex structures or associations.
- Badges
- Science topic