Measuring Biomass

Before naming the different methods of measuring biomass, it is important to know what is biomass. Biomass or production is considered as the total weight of living organisms within a given area. This includes plants and animals. Biomass is usually expressed as g/ha, lbs/acre, or g/m².

Now, there are several methods for the measurement of biomass. Here are some of them.

• The most basic one is counting the specific number of organisms of the same species within a given area. However, this method can be inaccurate and difficult to accomplish.
• Some people use their perception to calculate biomass, especially on plants. A trained person could estimate the weight of a plant just by looking at it. The person may calculate the mass of certain plant, for example 5 grams. So, like in the example, when the specialized person looks at the same plant but more of them (such as two more), he or she could infer that the approximate biomass of that species in a given area is of 15 grams.

• Biomass could also be estimated by looking at the changes in time and the possible abiotic factors that could have interfered. Here’s an example of an analysis made during three years. Precipitation was measured and visual evidence was taken. In here, biomass could be estimated visually, since changes in biomass are clearly seen at the visual evidence.

• There’s also the direct or destructive method, which consists in cutting (in case of plants) a vegetation in a certain area and weighing its mass. Several samplings should be made in order to get accurate data. The grams per quadrat are converted to the corresponding measuremeny system.
• However, there are other methods that do not involve the direct experimentation with the species. This can be by taking scale digital images. Images are analyzed in the computer, calculations are made according to the information provided by the images (such as green pixels showing the biomass in the image) and models were made.

Evaluation of these methods

     Looking at each of these methods and analyzing them, I figured out that some have advantages and other ones disadvantages. Some of them such as estimating its mass, observing its changes, or counting them, may be a little inaccurate, but they are ways in which you aren’t harming species. Others, such as measuring its dry mass could be a little harmful since for example, in grass, the grass should be clipped off. It may be more accurate than others, but still it is a destructive method. Furthermore, there’s also the scanning of the species via digital photos, which measures digitally the species biomass. It’s a good method since it may be really accurate and it’s a non-destructive method. However, it may be a little expensive.

     So, looking and evaluating each of the methods, we can say that each one of them has their advantages and disadvantages. The thing is to revise each one of them and look at the one with the most advantages. In my opinion, I think that the best one is the one that uses scanned digital photos, since it’s really accurate and non-destructive. However, it may me expensive.

References

Tackenberg, Oliver. "A New Method for Non-destructive Measurement of Biomass, Growth Rates, Vertical Biomass Distribution and Dry Matter Content Based on Digital Image Analysis." Annals of botany. Oxford University Press, 12 March 2007. Web. 25 Aug 2010. <http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/mcm009v1>.

"Biomass Terminology ." University of idaho. College of natural resources, n.d. Web. 25 Aug 2010. <http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/veg_measure/Modules/Lessons/Module%206/6_1_Biomass%20Terminology.htm>.

"Direct Measures of Biomass ." University of idaho. College of natural resources, n.d. Web. 25 Aug 2010. <http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/veg_measure/Modules/Lessons/Module%206/6_3_Direct%20Methods.htm>.

"Estimating Biomass and Double Sampling ." University of idaho. College of natural resources, n.d. Web. 25 Aug 2010. <http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/veg_measure/Modules/Lessons/Module%206/6_4_Estimates%20Double%20Sampling.htm>.

"Why Measuring Biomass or Production?." University of idaho. College of natural resources, n.d. Web. 25 Aug 2010. <http://www.cnr.uidaho.edu/veg_measure/Modules/Lessons/Module%206/6_2_Why%20Measure%20Biomass.htm>.