Editing Biomass (ecology) (section)

==Global biomass==
{{ external media
| headerimage=
| float  = right
| width  = 240px
| image1 = [https://www.visualcapitalist.com/all-the-biomass-of-earth-in-one-graphic Visualizing the biomass of life]
}}

The total global biomass has been estimated at 550 billion tonnes C.<ref name=Groombridge>Groombridge B, Jenkins MD (2000) [https://books.google.com/books?id=_kHeAXV5-XwC ''Global biodiversity: Earth's living resources in the 21st century''] p. 11. [[World Conservation Monitoring Centre]], World Conservation Press, Cambridge</ref><ref name="Bar-On"/> A breakdown of the global biomass is given by [[Kingdom (biology)|kingdom]] in the table below, based on a 2018 study by Bar-On et. al.<ref name="Bar-On" />
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Kingdom
!Global biomass in billion tonnes of carbon
!Global dry biomass in billion tonnes
!Global wet biomass in billion tonnes
!Image
|-
|{{center|[[Plant]]ae}}
|{{center|450<ref name="Bar-On" />}}
|{{center|900}}
|{{center|2700}}
|{{center|
[[File:Browns Field rainforest NSW.jpg|100px|frameless|center]]
}}
|-
|{{center|[[Bacteria]] + [[Archaea]]}}
|{{center|30<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />}}
|{{center|60}}
|{{center|200}}
|{{center|
[[File:E. coli Bacteria (7316101966).jpg|100px|frameless|center]]
}}
|-
|{{center|[[Fungus|Fungi]]}}
|{{center|12<ref name="Bar-On" />}}
|{{center|24}}
|{{center|80}}
|{{center|
[[File:Mushroom-IMG 1469.JPG|100px|frameless|center]]
}}
|-
|{{center|[[Protist]]a}}
|{{center|4<ref name="Bar-On" />}}
|{{center|8}}
|{{center|25}}
|{{center|
[[File:Ammonia tepida.jpg|100px|frameless|center]]
}}
|-
|{{center|[[Animal]]ia}}
|{{center|2<ref name="Bar-On" />}}
|{{center|4}}
|{{center|13}}
|{{center|
[[File:Great Barracuda off the Netherland Antilles.jpg|100px|frameless|center]]
}}
|-
|{{center|'''Total'''}}
|{{center|'''500'''}}
|{{center|'''1000'''}}
|{{center|'''3000'''}}
|}[[File:Distribution-of-earths-mammals.png|thumb|upright=1.5| Humans and their livestock represent 96% of all mammals on earth in terms of biomass, whereas all wild mammals represent only 4%.<ref name="Bar-On" />]] [[Animal]]s represent less than 0.5% of the total biomass on Earth, with about 2 billion tonnes C in total. Most animal biomass is found in the oceans, where [[arthropod]]s, such as [[copepod]]s, account for about 1 billion tonnes C and fish for another 0.7 billion tonnes C.<ref name="Bar-On" /> Roughly half of the biomass of fish in the world are [[Mesopelagic fish|mesopelagic]], such as lanternfish,<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Schwarzhans |first1=Werner |last2=Carnevale |first2=Giorgio |date=2021-03-19 |title=The rise to dominance of lanternfishes (Teleostei: Myctophidae) in the oceanic ecosystems: a paleontological perspective |journal=Paleobiology |language=en |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=446–463 |doi=10.1017/pab.2021.2 |bibcode=2021Pbio...47..446S |issn=0094-8373 |s2cid=233678539 |doi-access=free}}</ref> spending most of the day in the deep, dark waters.<ref name="Hatton">{{Cite journal |last1=Hatton |first1=Ian A. |last2=Heneghan |first2=Ryan F. |last3=Bar-On |first3=Yinon M. |last4=Galbraith |first4=Eric D. |date=2021-11-12 |title=The global ocean size spectrum from bacteria to whales |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=7 |issue=46 |pages=eabh3732 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abh3732 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=8580314 |pmid=34757796|bibcode=2021SciA....7.3732H }}</ref> Marine mammals such as whales and dolphins account for about 0.006 billion tonnes C.<ref name="Greenspoon" />

Land animals account for about 500 million tonnes C, or about 20% of the biomass of animals on Earth.<ref name="Bar-On" /> Terrestrial arthropods account for about 150 million tonnes C, most of which is found in the [[topsoil]].<ref name="Rosenberg" /> Land mammals account for about 180 million tonnes C, most of which are humans (about 80 million tonnes C) and domesticated mammals (about 90 million tonnes C). Wild terrestrial mammals account for only about 3 million tonnes C, less than 2% of the total mammalian biomass on land.<ref name="Greenspoon" />[[File:Distribution of the global biomass.png|thumb|center|700px|The global biomass broken down by kingdom and into taxonomic groups for animals.<ref name="Bar-On" /> The estimates for bacteria and archaea have been updated to 30 billion tonnes C combined since this figure was made.<ref name=":0" />]]
Most of the global biomass is found on land, with only 5 to 10 billion tonnes C found in the oceans.<ref name="Groombridge" /> On land, there is about 1,000 times more plant biomass (''phytomass'') than animal biomass (''zoomass'').<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gosh |first1=Iman |date=20 August 2021 |title=Misc All the Biomass of Earth, in One Graphic |work=Visual Capitalist |url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/all-the-biomass-of-earth-in-one-graphic/ |access-date=16 December 2021 |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216204344/https://www.visualcapitalist.com/all-the-biomass-of-earth-in-one-graphic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> About 18% of this plant biomass is eaten by the land animals.<ref name="Hartley">[[Sue Hartley|Hartley, Sue]] (2010) [http://vega.org.uk/video/programme/323 The 300 Million Years War: Plant Biomass v Herbivores] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201174725/http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/323 |date=1 December 2010 }} ''[[Royal Institution Christmas Lectures|Royal Institution Christmas Lecture]]''.</ref> However, marine animals eat most of the marine [[autotroph]]s, and the biomass of marine animals is greater than that of marine autotrophs.<ref name="Bar-On" /><ref name="Hartley" />

According to a 2020 study published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', human-made materials, or [[technomass]], outweigh all living biomass on earth, with [[Plastic pollution|plastic]] alone exceeding the mass of all land and marine animals combined.<ref>{{cite news |last=Laville |first=Sandra |date=December 9, 2020 |title=Human-made materials now outweigh Earth's entire biomass – study |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/09/human-made-materials-now-outweigh-earths-entire-biomass-study |access-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-date=10 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210000655/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/09/human-made-materials-now-outweigh-earths-entire-biomass-study |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Elhacham" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Anthropogenic mass: Comparing human-made mass to the living Biomass on earth |url=http://anthropomass.org/ |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=Anthropogenic mass: Comparing human-made mass to the living Biomass on earth |archive-date=31 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230731105900/https://anthropomass.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"
!
!name
!number of species
!date of estimate
!individual count
!mean living mass of individual
!percent biomass (dried)
!global dry biomass in million tonnes
!global wet (fresh) biomass in million tonnes
|-
! rowspan="10" |Terrestrial
| rowspan=2 | {{center|[[Humans]]}}
| rowspan=2 | {{center|1}}
| {{center|November 2022}}
| {{center|8 billion<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nations |first=United |title=Day of 8 Billion |url=https://www.un.org/en/dayof8billion |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=United Nations |language=en |archive-date=15 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115021315/https://www.un.org/en/dayof8billion |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|50&nbsp;kg<br />(incl children)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hern |first=Warren M. |date=September 1999 |title=How Many Times Has the Human Population Doubled? Comparisons with Cancer |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27503685 |journal=Population and Environment |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=59–80 |doi=10.1007/BF02436121 |jstor=27503685 |s2cid=86671730 |archive-date=9 July 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709132812/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27503685 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|40%<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jéquier |first1=E. |last2=Constant |first2=F. |date=February 2010 |title=Water as an essential nutrient: the physiological basis of hydration |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2009111 |journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |language=en |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=115–123 |doi=10.1038/ejcn.2009.111 |pmid=19724292 |s2cid=205129670 |issn=1476-5640}}</ref>}}
| {{center|160}}
| {{center|400<ref name= "Greenspoon">{{Cite journal |last1=Greenspoon |first1=Lior |last2=Krieger |first2=Eyal |last3=Sender |first3=Ron |last4=Rosenberg |first4=Yuval |last5=Bar-On |first5=Yinon M. |last6=Moran |first6=Uri |last7=Antman |first7=Tomer |last8=Meiri |first8=Shai |last9=Roll |first9=Uri |last10=Noor |first10=Elad |last11=Milo |first11=Ron |date=2023-03-07 |title=The global biomass of wild mammals |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=120 |issue=10 |pages=e2204892120 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2204892120 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=10013851 |pmid=36848563|bibcode=2023PNAS..12004892G }}</ref>}}
|-
| {{center|2005}}
| {{center|4.63 billion adults}}
| {{center|62&nbsp;kg<br />(excl. children)<ref name="AdultHumanBiomass" />}}
|
|
| {{center|287<ref name="AdultHumanBiomass">{{cite journal | vauthors = Walpole SC, Prieto-Merino D, Edwards P, Cleland J, Stevens G, Roberts I | title = The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass | journal = BMC Public Health | volume = 12 | issue = 1 | pages = 439 | date = June 2012 | pmid = 22709383 | pmc = 3408371 | doi = 10.1186/1471-2458-12-439 | url =  | doi-access = free }}</ref>}}
|-
| {{center|[[Cattle]]}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{Center|2021}}
| {{center|1.5 billion<ref name= "FAOSTAT">{{Cite web |title=FAOSTAT |url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=www.fao.org |archive-date=12 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112130804/https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|300&nbsp;kg}}
| {{center|30%}}
| {{center|125}}
| {{center|416<ref name= "Greenspoon"/>}}
|-
| {{center|[[Sheep]]}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|2021}}
| {{center|1.3 billion<ref name= "FAOSTAT"/>}}
| {{center|30&nbsp;kg}}
| {{center|30%}}
| {{center|12}}
| {{center|39<ref name= "Greenspoon"/>}}
|-
| {{Center|[[Goat]]s}}
| {{Center|1}}
| {{Center|2021}}
| {{Center|1.1 billion<ref name= "FAOSTAT"/>}}
| {{Center|30 kg}}
| {{Center|30%}}
| {{Center|10}}
| {{Center|32<ref name= "Greenspoon"/>}}
|-
| {{center|[[Chicken]]s}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|2021}}
| {{center|26 billion}}
| {{center|0.9 kg for broilers, 1.8 kg for layers<ref>IPCC 2006, 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Prepared by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme, Eggleston H.S., Buendia L., Miwa K., Ngara T. and Tanabe K. (eds). Published: IGES, Japan.</ref>}}
| {{center|30%}}
| {{center|8<ref name="Bar-On"/>}}
| {{center|25}}
|-
| {{center|[[Ant]]s}}
| {{center|15,700<ref name= "Schultheiss">{{Cite journal |last1=Schultheiss |first1=Patrick |last2=Nooten |first2=Sabine |last3=Wang |first3=Runxi |last4=Wong |first4=Mark |last5=Brassard |first5=François |last6=Benoit |first6=Guénard |date=September 19, 2022 |title=The abundance, biomass, and distribution of ants on Earth |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=119 |issue=40 |pages=e2201550119 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2201550119 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=9546634 |pmid=36122199|bibcode=2022PNAS..11901550S }}</ref>}}
| {{center|2022}}
| {{center|20–90{{e|15}}<ref name= "Schultheiss"/>}}
| {{center|3.7 mg<ref name = "Rosenberg">{{Cite journal |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Yuval |last2=Bar-On |first2=Yinon M. |last3=Fromm |first3=Amir |last4=Ostikar |first4=Meital |last5=Shoshany |first5=Aviv |last6=Giz |first6=Omer |last7=Milo |first7=Ron |date=3 Feb 2023 |title=The global biomass and number of terrestrial arthropods |journal=Science Advances |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=eabq4049 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abq4049 |issn=2375-2548 |pmc=9897674 |pmid=36735788|bibcode=2023SciA....9.4049R }}</ref>-5.5 mg<ref name= "Schultheiss"/>}}
| {{center|22.8%<ref name= "Petersen">{{cite journal |last1=Petersen |first1=Henning |last2=Luxton |first2=Malcolm |title=A Comparative Analysis of Soil Fauna Populations and Their Role in Decomposition Processes |journal=Oikos |date=December 1982 |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=288–388 |doi=10.2307/3544689 |jstor=3544689 |bibcode=1982Oikos..39..288P |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274752964 |access-date=July 26, 2023}}</ref>}}
| {{center|10–100<ref name= "Schultheiss"/>}}
| {{center|40–450}}
|-
| {{center|[[Earthworm]]s}}
| {{center|7,000–30,000<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Joint Research Centre (European Commission) |url=https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2788/2613 |title=Global soil biodiversity atlas |last2=Johnson |first2=Nancy C. |last3=Scheu |first3=Stefan |last4=Ramirez |first4=Kelly S. |last5=Lemanceau |first5=Philippe |last6=Eggleton |first6=Paul |last7=Jones |first7=Arwyn |last8=Moreira |first8=Fatima M. S. |last9=Barrios |first9=Edmundo |date=2016 |publisher=Publications Office of the European Union |isbn=978-92-79-48168-0 |location=LU|doi=10.2788/2613 }}</ref>}}
| {{center|2016}}
|
| {{center|10 mg (dry weight)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fierer |first1=Noah |last2=Strickland |first2=Michael S. |last3=Liptzin |first3=Daniel |last4=Bradford |first4=Mark A. |last5=Cleveland |first5=Cory C. |date=October 13, 2009 |title=Global patterns in belowground communities |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19674041/ |journal=Ecology Letters |language=en |volume=12 |issue=11 |pages=1238–1249 |doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01360.x |pmid=19674041 |bibcode=2009EcolL..12.1238F |archive-date=26 July 2023 |access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726125918/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19674041/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|10–25%<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Clive A. |last2=Normal |first2=Arancon Q. |title=Biology and Ecology of Earthworms |date=2022 |publisher=Springer |location=New York |isbn=978-0-387-74943-3 |pages=33–54 |edition=4th |chapter=Earthworm Physiology}}</ref>}}
| {{center|400<ref name="Bar-On" />}}
| {{center|1,600}}
|-
| {{center|[[Termite]]s}}
| {{center|2,972{{cn|date=August 2023}}}}
| {{center|2022}}
|
| {{center|2 mg<ref name= "Petersen"/>}}
| {{center|27%<ref name= "Petersen"/>}}
| {{center|100<ref name="Rosenberg" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tuma |first1=Jiri |last2=Eggleton |first2=Paul |last3=Fayle |first3=Tom M. |date=25 Dec 2019 |title=Ant-termite interactions: an important but under-explored ecological linkage |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12577 |journal=Biological Reviews |language=en |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=555–572 |doi=10.1111/brv.12577 |pmid=31876057 |s2cid=209482348 |issn=1464-7931 |archive-date=26 July 2023 |access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726125919/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12577 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|440<ref>Sum of [(biomass m{{sup|−2}}2)*(area m{{sup|2}})] from table 3 in Sanderson, M.G. 1996 ''Biomass of termites and their emissions of methane and carbon dioxide: A global database'' Global Biochemical Cycles, Vol '''10:4''' 543–557</ref>}}
|-
| {{center|[[Nematode]]s}}
| {{center|}}
| {{center|2019}}
| {{center|4.4×10<sup>20</sup><ref name= "Nematode_VDHoogen">{{cite journal |last1=van den Hoogen |first1=Johan |title=Soil nematode abundance and functional group composition at a global scale |journal=Nature |date=8 August 2019 |volume=572 |issue=7768 |pages=194–198 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1418-6 |pmid=31341281 |bibcode=2019Natur.572..194V |display-authors=0 |hdl=10261/193342 |url=http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1117599 |hdl-access=free |archive-date=12 May 2024 |access-date=15 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512085100/https://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1117599 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
|
| {{center|20%<ref name= "Petersen"/>}}
| {{center|60}}
| {{center|300<ref name= "Nematode_VDHoogen"/>}}
|-
! rowspan=6 | {{center|Marine}}
| rowspan=2 | {{center|[[Blue whale]]s<ref name="BlueWhaleBiomass">{{cite journal | vauthors = Pershing AJ, Christensen LB, Record NR, Sherwood GD, Stetson PB | title = The impact of whaling on the ocean carbon cycle: why bigger was better | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 5 | issue = 8 | pages = e12444 | date = August 2010 | pmid = 20865156 | pmc = 2928761 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0012444 | editor1-last = Humphries | bibcode = 2010PLoSO...512444P | editor1-first = Stuart | doi-access = free }} (Table 1)</ref>}}
| rowspan=2 |{{center|1}}
| {{center|Pre-whaling}}
| {{center|340,000}}
|
| {{center|40%<ref name="WhaleCarbon">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Jelmert A, Oppen-Berntsen DO | title = Whaling and Deep-Sea Biodiversity | journal = Conservation Biology | year = 1996 | volume = 10 | pages = 653–654 | doi = 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10020653.x | issue = 2 | bibcode = 1996ConBi..10..653J }}</ref>}}
|
| {{center|36}}
|-
| {{center|2023}}
| {{center|50,000<ref name= "Greenspoon"/>}}
| {{center|60,000 kg}}
| {{center|40%<ref name="WhaleCarbon" />}}
| {{center|1.2}}
| {{center|3<ref name="Greenspoon"/>}}
|-
| {{center|[[Fish]]}}
| {{center|>20,000<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisheries |first=NOAA |date=2022-05-03 |title=Fun Facts About Fascinating Fish {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/outreach-and-education/fun-facts-about-fascinating-fish |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=NOAA |language=en |archive-date=15 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815190832/https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/outreach-and-education/fun-facts-about-fascinating-fish |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|2022}}
|
|
| {{center|30%<ref name="Johnson">{{cite journal | doi=10.1080/00028487.2017.1360392 | title=Energy Density and Dry Matter Content in Fish: New Observations and an Evaluation of Some Empirical Models | date=2017 | last1=Johnson | first1=Brett M. | last2=Pate | first2=William M. | last3=Hansen | first3=Adam G. | journal=Transactions of the American Fisheries Society | volume=146 | issue=6 | pages=1262–1278 | bibcode=2017TrAFS.146.1262J }}</ref>}}
| {{center|3,000}}
| {{center|9,000<ref name= "Hatton"/>}}
|-
| {{center|[[Antarctic krill]]}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|2008}}
| {{center|7.8{{e|14}}<ref name="KrillBiomass2009">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Atkinson A, Siegel V, Pakhomov EA, Jessopp MJ, Loeb V |year=2009 |title=A re-appraisal of the total biomass and annual production of Antarctic krill |url=http://www.iced.ac.uk/documents/Atkinson%20et%20al,%20Deep%20Sea%20Research%20I,%202009.pdf |journal=Deep-Sea Research Part I |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=727–740 |bibcode=2009DSRI...56..727A |doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2008.12.007 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=2 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303192327/http://www.iced.ac.uk/documents/Atkinson%20et%20al,%20Deep%20Sea%20Research%20I,%202009.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| {{center|0.486 g<ref name="KrillBiomass2009" />}}
|
|
| {{center|379 (in peak season)<ref name="KrillBiomass2009" />}}
|-
| {{center|[[Copepod]]s<br /><small>(a [[zooplankton]])</small>}}
| {{center| 13,000}}
|
|
| {{center|10<sup>−6</sup>–10<sup>−9</sup> kg }}
|
|
|
|-
| {{center|[[Cyanobacteria]]<br /><small>(a [[picoplankton]])</small>}}
| {{center|?}}
| {{center|2003}}
|
|
|
|
| {{center|1,000<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1127/1864-1318/2003/0109-0213 | vauthors = Garcia-Pichel F, Belnap J, Neuer S, Schanz F | year = 2003 | title = Estimates of global cyanobacterial biomass and its distribution | url = http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/products/pdfs/GarciaPichel_et_al_2003_Estimates_of_global_cyanobacterial.pdf | journal = Algological Studies | volume = 109 | pages = 213–217 | archive-date = 26 December 2016 | access-date = 18 January 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161226185525/http://sbsc.wr.usgs.gov/products/pdfs/GarciaPichel_et_al_2003_Estimates_of_global_cyanobacterial.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>}}
|}