Biomass is a term used to characterize any organic matter created through photosynthesis. This definition includes terrestrial and aquatic vegetation and shrubs, as well as aquatic plants and microorganisms.
Peculiarities
Biomass is the remains of animal activity (manure), industrial and agricultural waste. This product is of industrial importance and is in demand in the energy sector. Biomass is a natural product whose carbon content is so high that it can be used as an alternative fuel.
Compound
Biomass is a mixture of green plants, microorganisms, and animals. In order to restore it, a short period of time is required. Biomass of living organisms is the only source of energy that can release carbon dioxide during processing. Its main part is concentrated in forests. On land, it includes green shrubs and trees, and their volume is estimated at about 2,400 billion tons. In the oceans, the biomass of organisms is formed much faster; here it is represented by microorganisms and animals.
Currently, such a concept as an increase in the number of green plants is being considered. Woody vegetation accounts for approximately two percent. The majority (about seventy percent) of the total composition is made up of arable land, green meadows, and small vegetation.
About fifteen percent of the total biomass comes from marine phytoplankton. Due to the fact that the process of its division occurs in a short period of time, we can talk about a significant turnover of vegetation in the world's oceans. Scientists cite interesting facts according to which three days are enough to completely renew the green part of the ocean.
On land, this process takes about fifty years. Every year, the process of photosynthesis occurs, thanks to which about 150 billion tons of dry organic product are obtained. The total biomass generated in the world's oceans, despite its insignificant indicators, is comparable to the production generated on land.
The insignificance of the weight of plants in the world's oceans can be explained by the fact that they are eaten by animals and microorganisms in a short period of time, but the vegetation here is completely restored quite quickly.
Subtropical and tropical forests are considered the most productive in the continental part of the earth's biosphere. Ocean biomass is mainly represented by reefs and estuaries.
Among the bioenergy technologies currently used, we highlight: pyrolysis, gasification, fermentation, anaerobic fermentation, various types of fuel combustion.
Renewal of biomass
Recently, in many European countries, various experiments have been carried out related to the cultivation of energy forests, from which biomass is obtained. The meaning of the word is especially relevant these days, when close attention is paid to environmental issues. The process of obtaining biomass, as well as industrial processing of household solid waste, wood pulp, and agricultural boilers, is accompanied by the release of steam that drives the turbine. From an environmental point of view, it is absolutely safe for the environment.
Thanks to this, rotation of the generator rotor is observed, capable of generating electrical energy. Gradually, ash accumulates, reducing the efficiency of power generation, so it is periodically removed from the reaction mixture.
Fast-growing trees are grown on huge experimental plantations: acacias, poplars, eucalyptus. About twenty plant species have been tested.
Combined plantations, in which, in addition to trees, other crops are grown, were considered an interesting option. For example, barley is planted between rows of poplars. The duration of rotation of the created energy forest is six to seven years.
Biomass processing
Let's continue the conversation about what biomass is. The definition of this term has been given by different scientists, but they are all convinced that green plants are a promising option for obtaining alternative fuel.
First of all, it should be noted that the main product of gasification is a hydrocarbon - methane. It can be used as a feedstock in the chemical industry and also as an efficient fuel.
Pyrolysis
Rapid pyrolysis (thermal decomposition of substances) produces bio-oil, which is a flammable fuel. The thermal energy released in this case is used to chemically convert green biomass into synthetic oil. It is much easier to transport and store than solid materials. Next, the bio-oil is burned to produce electrical energy. By pyrolysis, it is possible to convert biomass into phenolic oil, used for the production of wood glue, insulating foam, and injection molding plastics.
Anaerobic fermentation
This process is carried out thanks to anaerobic bacteria. Microorganisms live in places where there is no access to oxygen. They consume organic matter, producing hydrogen and methane during the reaction. By feeding manure and wastewater into special digesters, introducing anaerobic microorganisms into them, the resulting gas can be used as a fuel source.
Bacteria are capable of decomposing organic substances contained in landfills and food waste, producing methane. To extract gas and use it as fuel, special installations can be used.
Conclusion
Biofuels are not only an excellent source of energy, but also a way to extract valuable chemicals. Thus, during the chemical processing of methane, a variety of organic compounds can be obtained: methanol, ethanol, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, and polymeric materials. For example, ethanol is a valuable substance used in various industries.
Currently, about 500 thousand species of plants and more than 1.5 million species of animals are known on Earth. 93% of them inhabit land, and 7% are inhabitants of the aquatic environment (table).
| Dry weight | Continents | Oceans | |||||
| Green plants | Animals and micro-organisms | Green plants | Animals and microorganisms | Total |
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| Interest | |||||||
The table shows that although the oceans occupy about 70% of the earth's surface, they form only 0.13% of the earth's biomass.
Soil formation occurs biogenically; it consists of inorganic and organic substances. Outside the biosphere, soil formation is impossible. Under the influence of microorganisms, plants and animals on rocks, the soil layer of the Earth begins to gradually form. The biogenic elements accumulated in organisms after their death and decomposition again pass into the soil.
The processes occurring in the soil are an important component of the cycle of substances in the biosphere. Human economic activity can lead to a gradual change in the composition of the soil and the death of microorganisms living in it. That is why it is necessary to develop measures for the wise use of soil. Material from the site
The hydrosphere plays an important role in the distribution of heat and humidity across the planet and in the cycle of substances, so it also has a powerful influence on the biosphere. Water is an important component of the biosphere and one of the most necessary factors for the life of organisms. Most of the water is found in oceans and seas. The composition of ocean and sea water includes mineral salts containing about 60 chemical elements. Oxygen and carbon, necessary for the life of organisms, are highly soluble in water. Aquatic animals emit carbon dioxide during respiration, and plants enrich the water with oxygen through photosynthesis.
Plankton
In the upper layers of ocean waters, reaching a depth of 100 m, unicellular algae and microorganisms that form microplankton(from Greek plankton - wandering).
About 30% of photosynthesis occurring on our planet occurs in water. Algae, perceiving solar energy, convert it into the energy of chemical reactions. In the nutrition of aquatic organisms, the main importance is plankton.
Biomass of the Earth. On the Earth's land, starting from the poles to the equator, biomass gradually increases. At the same time, the number of plant species is increasing. Tundra with lichens and mosses gives way to coniferous and deciduous forests, then steppes and subtropical vegetation. The greatest concentration and diversity of plants occurs in tropical rainforests. The height of the trees reaches 110-120m. Plants grow in several tiers, epiphytes cover the trees. The number and diversity of animal species depend on plant mass and also increase towards the equator. In forests, animals are settled in different tiers. The highest density of life is observed in biogeocenoses, where species are connected by food chains. Food chains, intertwined, form a complex network of transfer of chemical elements and energy from one link to another. There is a fierce competition between organisms for the possession of space, food, light, and oxygen. Humans have a great influence on land biomass. Under its influence, areas producing biomass are reduced.
Soil biomass. Soil is the environment necessary for plant life and biogeocenosis with a variety of tiny living organisms. This is a loose surface layer of the earth's crust, modified by the atmosphere and organisms and constantly replenished with organic remains. The formation of living organic matter occurs on the earth's surface; The decomposition of organic substances and their mineralization occur mainly in the soil. The soil was formed under the influence of organisms and physicochemical factors. The thickness of the soil, along with the surface biomass and under its influence, increases from the poles to the equator. In northern latitudes, humus is of particular importance.
Distribution of biomass on the land surface.
The soil is densely populated with living organisms. Water from rain and melting snow enriches it with oxygen and dissolves mineral salts. Some of the solutions are retained in the soil, while others are carried into rivers and the ocean. The soil evaporates the groundwater rising through the capillaries. There is a movement of solutions and precipitation of salts in different soil horizons.
Gas exchange also occurs in the soil. At night, when the gases cool and compress, some air penetrates into it. Oxygen from the air is absorbed by animals and plants and is part of chemical compounds. Nitrogen that penetrates into the soil with air is captured by some bacteria. During the day, when the soil heats up, gases are released: carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia. All processes occurring in the soil are included in the cycle of substances in the biosphere.
Some types of human economic activity (chemicalization of agricultural production, refining of petroleum products, etc.) cause mass death of soil organisms that play an important role in the biosphere.
Biomass of the World Ocean. The Earth's hydrosphere, or the World Ocean, occupies more than 2/3 of the planet's surface. Water has a high heat capacity, making the temperature of the oceans and seas more uniform, softening extreme temperature changes in winter and summer. The ocean freezes only at the poles, but living organisms also exist under the ice.
Water is a good solvent. Ocean water contains mineral salts containing about 60 chemical elements; oxygen and carbon dioxide coming from the air are dissolved in it. Aquatic animals also emit carbon dioxide when breathing, and algae enrich the water with oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.
The physical properties and chemical composition of ocean waters are very constant and create an environment favorable for life. Photosynthesis of algae occurs mainly in the upper layer of water - up to 100 m. The surface of the ocean in this layer is filled with microscopic unicellular algae that form microplankton.
Plankton is of primary importance in the nutrition of ocean animals. Copepods feed on algae and protozoa. The crustaceans are eaten by herring and other fish. Herrings are used as food for predatory fish and seagulls. Baleen whales feed exclusively on plankton. In the ocean, in addition to plankton and free-swimming animals, there are many organisms attached to the bottom and crawling along it. The bottom population is called benthos. In the ocean, concentrations of organisms are observed: planktonic, coastal, bottom. Living concentrations also include coral colonies that form reefs and islands. In the ocean, especially at the bottom, bacteria are common, converting organic residues into inorganic substances. Dead organisms slowly settle to the ocean floor. Many of them are covered with flint or calcareous shells, as well as calcareous shells. They form sedimentary rocks on the ocean floor.
Currently, a number of countries are solving the problem of extracting fresh water and metals from the ocean and making fuller use of its food resources while protecting the most valuable animals.
The hydrosphere has a powerful influence on the entire biosphere. Daily and seasonal fluctuations in the heating of the land and ocean surfaces cause the circulation of heat and moisture in the atmosphere and affect the climate and cycles of substances throughout the biosphere.
Oil production in the seas, its transportation in tankers and other types of human activity lead to pollution of the World Ocean and a reduction in its biomass.
Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia
Biomass(biomatter) - the total mass of plant and animal organisms present in a biogeocenosis of a certain size or level.
The biomass of the Earth is 2423 billion tons. Humans provide about 350 million tons of biomass in live weight or about 100 million tons in terms of dry biomass - a negligible amount compared to the entire biomass of the planet
Composition of land biomass
Organisms of the continental part
- Green plants - 2400 billion tons (99.2%)
- Animals and microorganisms - 20 billion tons (0.8%)
Ocean Organisms
- Green plants - 0.2 billion tons (6.3%)
- Animals and microorganisms - 3 billion tons (93.7%)
Thus, most of the Earth's biomass is concentrated in the Earth's forests. On land the mass of plants predominates; in the oceans there is a mass of animals and microorganisms. However, the rate of biomass growth (turnover) is much greater in the oceans.
Biomass turnover
If we consider the increase in biomass to the existing mass, we obtain the following indicators:
- Woody vegetation of forests - 1.8%
- Vegetation of meadows, steppes, arable land - 67%
- Complex of plants of lakes and rivers - 14%
- Marine phytoplankton - 15%
The intensive division of microscopic phytoplankton cells, their rapid growth and short-term existence contribute to the rapid turnover of ocean phytomass, which on average occurs in 1-3 days, while the complete renewal of land vegetation takes 50 years or more. Therefore, despite the small amount of ocean phytomass, its annual total production is comparable to the production of land plants. The low weight of ocean plants is due to the fact that they are eaten by animals and microorganisms within a few days, but are also restored within a few days.
Every year, about 150 billion tons of dry organic matter are formed in the biosphere through the process of photosynthesis. In the continental part of the biosphere, the most productive are tropical and subtropical forests, in the oceanic part - estuaries (river mouths expanding towards the sea) and reefs, as well as zones of rising deep waters - upwelling. Low plant productivity is typical for the open ocean, deserts and tundra.
Application of biomass in energy
Biomass is the sixth most abundant energy source currently available, after oil shale, uranium, coal, oil and natural gas. The approximate total biological mass of the earth is estimated at 2.4·10 12 tons.
Biomass is the fifth most productive renewable energy source after direct solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy. Every year, about 170 billion tons of primary biological mass are formed on earth and approximately the same volume is destroyed.
Biomass is the largest renewable resource used in the world economy (more than 500 million tons of fuel equivalent per year)
Biomass is used to produce heat, electricity, biofuel, biogas (methane, hydrogen).
The bulk of fuel biomass (up to 80%), primarily wood, is used for heating homes and cooking in developing countries.
Examples
In 2002, the US power industry installed 9,733 MW of biomass generating capacity. Of these, 5886 MW were powered by forestry and agricultural waste, 3308 MW were powered by municipal solid waste, and 539 MW were powered by other sources.
Biomass gasification
From 1 kilogram of biomass, you can get about 2.5 m 3 of generator gas, the main combustible components of which are carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H 2). Depending on the method of carrying out the gasification process and the feedstock, low-calorie (heavily ballasted) or medium-calorie generator gas can be obtained.
Biogas is produced from animal manure using methane fermentation. Biogas consists of 55-75% methane and 25-45% CO 2. From a ton of cattle manure (in dry mass) 250-350 cubic meters of biogas are obtained. The world leader in the number of operating biogas production plants is China.
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Excerpt characterizing Biomass
"Love? What is love? - he thought. – Love interferes with death. Love is life. Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists only because I love. Everything is connected by one thing. Love is God, and to die means for me, a particle of love, to return to the common and eternal source.” These thoughts seemed comforting to him. But these were just thoughts. Something was missing in them, something was one-sided, personal, mental - it was not obvious. And there was the same anxiety and uncertainty. He fell asleep.He saw in a dream that he was lying in the same room in which he was actually lying, but that he was not wounded, but healthy. Many different faces, insignificant, indifferent, appear before Prince Andrei. He talks to them, argues about something unnecessary. They are getting ready to go somewhere. Prince Andrey vaguely remembers that all this is insignificant and that he has other, more important concerns, but continues to speak, surprising them, some empty, witty words. Little by little, imperceptibly, all these faces begin to disappear, and everything is replaced by one question about the closed door. He gets up and goes to the door to slide the bolt and lock it. Everything depends on whether he has time or not time to lock her. He walks, he hurries, his legs don’t move, and he knows that he won’t have time to lock the door, but still he painfully strains all his strength. And a painful fear seizes him. And this fear is the fear of death: it stands behind the door. But at the same time, as he powerlessly and awkwardly crawls towards the door, something terrible, on the other hand, is already, pressing, breaking into it. Something inhuman - death - is breaking at the door, and we must hold it back. He grabs the door, strains his last efforts - it is no longer possible to lock it - at least to hold it; but his strength is weak, clumsy, and, pressed by the terrible, the door opens and closes again.
Once again it pressed from there. The last, supernatural efforts were in vain, and both halves opened silently. It has entered, and it is death. And Prince Andrei died.
But at the same moment as he died, Prince Andrei remembered that he was sleeping, and at the same moment as he died, he, making an effort on himself, woke up.
“Yes, it was death. I died - I woke up. Yes, death is awakening! - his soul suddenly brightened, and the veil that had hitherto hidden the unknown was lifted before his spiritual gaze. He felt a kind of liberation of the strength previously bound in him and that strange lightness that has not left him since then.
When he woke up in a cold sweat and stirred on the sofa, Natasha came up to him and asked what was wrong with him. He did not answer her and, not understanding her, looked at her with a strange look.
This was what happened to him two days before the arrival of Princess Marya. From that very day, as the doctor said, the debilitating fever took on a bad character, but Natasha was not interested in what the doctor said: she saw these terrible, more undoubted moral signs for her.
From this day on, for Prince Andrei, along with awakening from sleep, awakening from life began. And in relation to the duration of life, it did not seem to him slower than awakening from sleep in relation to the duration of the dream.
There was nothing scary or abrupt in this relatively slow awakening.
His last days and hours passed as usual and simply. And Princess Marya and Natasha, who did not leave his side, felt it. They did not cry, did not shudder, and lately, feeling this themselves, they no longer walked after him (he was no longer there, he left them), but after the closest memory of him - his body. The feelings of both were so strong that the external, terrible side of death did not affect them, and they did not find it necessary to indulge their grief. They did not cry either in front of him or without him, but they never talked about him among themselves. They felt that they could not put into words what they understood.
They both saw him sink deeper and deeper, slowly and calmly, away from them somewhere, and they both knew that this was how it should be and that it was good.
He was confessed and given communion; everyone came to say goodbye to him. When their son was brought to him, he put his lips to him and turned away, not because he felt hard or sorry (Princess Marya and Natasha understood this), but only because he believed that this was all that was required of him; but when they told him to bless him, he did what was required and looked around, as if asking if anything else needed to be done.
When the last convulsions of the body, abandoned by the spirit, took place, Princess Marya and Natasha were here.
– Is it over?! - said Princess Marya, after his body had been lying motionless and cold in front of them for several minutes. Natasha came up, looked into the dead eyes and hurried to close them. She closed them and did not kiss them, but kissed what was her closest memory of him.
“Where did he go? Where is he now?..”
When the dressed, washed body lay in a coffin on the table, everyone came up to him to say goodbye, and everyone cried.
Nikolushka cried from the painful bewilderment that tore his heart. The Countess and Sonya cried out of pity for Natasha and the fact that he was no more. The old count cried that soon, he felt, he would have to take the same terrible step.
Natasha and Princess Marya were also crying now, but they were not crying from their personal grief; they wept from the reverent emotion that gripped their souls before the consciousness of the simple and solemn mystery of death that had taken place before them.
The totality of causes of phenomena is inaccessible to the human mind. But the need to find reasons is embedded in the human soul. And the human mind, without delving into the innumerability and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, each of which separately can be represented as a cause, grabs the first, most understandable convergence and says: this is the cause. In historical events (where the object of observation is the actions of people), the most primitive convergence seems to be the will of the gods, then the will of those people who stand in the most prominent historical place - historical heroes. But one has only to delve into the essence of each historical event, that is, into the activities of the entire mass of people who participated in the event, to be convinced that the will of the historical hero not only does not guide the actions of the masses, but is itself constantly guided. It would seem that it is all the same to understand the significance of the historical event one way or another. But between the man who says that the peoples of the West went to the East because Napoleon wanted it, and the man who says that it happened because it had to happen, there is the same difference that existed between the people who argued that the earth stands firmly and the planets move around it, and those who said that they do not know what the earth rests on, but they know that there are laws governing the movement of it and other planets. There are no and cannot be reasons for a historical event, except for the only cause of all reasons. But there are laws that govern events, partly unknown, partly groped by us. The discovery of these laws is possible only when we completely renounce the search for causes in the will of one person, just as the discovery of the laws of planetary motion became possible only when people renounced the idea of \u200b\u200bthe affirmation of the earth.
The totality of all living organisms forms the biomass (or, in the words of V.I. Vernadsky, living matter) of the planet.
By mass, this is about 0.001% of the mass of the earth's crust. However, despite the insignificant total biomass, the role of living organisms in the processes occurring on the planet is enormous. It is the activity of living organisms that determines the chemical composition of the atmosphere, the concentration of salts in the hydrosphere, the formation of some rocks and the destruction of others, the formation of soil in the lithosphere, etc.
Land biomass. The highest density of life is in tropical forests. There are more plant species here (more than 5 thousand). To the north and south of the equator, life becomes poorer, its density and the number of plant and animal species decrease: in the subtropics there are about 3 thousand plant species, in the steppes about 2 thousand, then there are broad-leaved and coniferous forests and, finally, the tundra, in which grows about 500 species of lichens and mosses. Depending on the intensity of life development in different geographical latitudes, biological productivity changes. It is estimated that the total primary productivity of land (biomass formed by autotrophic organisms per unit time per unit area) is about 150 billion tons, including 8 billion tons of organic matter per year from the world's forests. The total plant mass per 1 hectare in the tundra is 28.25 tons, in the tropical forest - 524 tons. In the temperate zone, 1 hectare of forest per year produces about 6 tons of wood and 4 tons of leaves, which is 193.2 * 109 J (~ 46 * 109 cal). Secondary productivity (biomass produced by heterotrophic organisms per unit time per unit area) in the biomass of insects, birds and others in this forest ranges from 0.8 to 3% of plant biomass, that is, about 2 * 109 J (5 * 108 cal).< /p>
The primary annual productivity of different agrocenoses varies significantly. The average world productivity in tons of dry matter per 1 hectare is: wheat - 3.44, potatoes - 3.85, rice - 4.97, sugar beets - 7.65. The harvest that a person collects is only 0.5% of the total biological productivity of the field. A significant part of the primary production is destroyed by saprophytes - soil inhabitants.
One of the important components of land surface biogeocenoses are soils. The starting material for soil formation is the surface layers of rocks. From them, under the influence of microorganisms, plants and animals, a soil layer is formed. Organisms concentrate biogenic elements in themselves: after the death of plants and animals and the decomposition of their remains, these elements pass into the composition of the soil, due to which
it accumulates biogenic elements, and also accumulates incompletely decomposed organic pechs. The soil contains a huge number of microorganisms. Thus, in one gram of chernozem their number reaches 25 * 108. Thus, the soil is of biogenic origin, consisting of inorganic, organic substances and living organisms (edaphon is the totality of all living beings of the soil). Outside the biosphere, the emergence and existence of soil is impossible. Soil is a living environment for many organisms (unicellular animals, annelids and roundworms, arthropods and many others). The soil is penetrated by plant roots, from which plants absorb nutrients and water. The productivity of agricultural crops is associated with the vital activity of living organisms in the soil. Adding chemicals to the soil often has a detrimental effect on life in it. Therefore, it is necessary to rationally use soils and protect them.
Each area has its own soils, which differ from others in composition and properties. The formation of individual types of soils is associated with different soil-forming rocks, climate and plant characteristics. V.V. Dokuchaev identified 10 main types of soils, now there are more than 100 of them. The following soil zones are distinguished on the territory of Ukraine: Polesie, Forest-steppe, Steppe, Dry steppe, as well as the Carpathian and Crimean mountain regions with the types of soil structure inherent in each of them cover. Polesie is characterized by soddy-zolic soils, gray forest ones. Temnosiri forest soils, podzolized chernozems, etc. The Forest-steppe zone has gray and dark siri forest soils. The Steppe zone is mainly represented by chernozems. Brown forest soils predominate in the Ukrainian Carpathians. In Crimea there are different soils (chernozem, chestnut, etc.), but they are usually gravelly and rocky.
Biomass of the World Ocean. The world's oceans occupy more than 2/3 of the planet's surface area. The physical properties and chemical composition of ocean waters are favorable for the development and existence of life. As on land, in the ocean the density of life is greatest in the equatorial zone and decreases as you move further away from it. In the upper layer, at a depth of up to 100 m, live unicellular algae, which make up plankton, “the total primary productivity of phytoplankton in the World Ocean is 50 billion tons per year (about 1/3 of the total primary production of the biosphere). Almost all food chains in the ocean begin with phytoplankton, which feed on zooplankton animals (such as crustaceans). Crustaceans are food for many species of fish and baleen whales. Birds eat fish. Large algae grow mainly in the coastal areas of oceans and seas. The greatest concentration of life is in coral reefs. The ocean is poorer in life than land; the biomass of its products is 1000 times less. Most of the formed biomass - single-celled algae and other inhabitants of the ocean - die, settle to the bottom and their organic matter is destroyed by decomposers. Only about 0.01% of the primary productivity of the World Ocean reaches humans through a long chain of trophic levels in the form of food and chemical energy.
At the bottom of the ocean, as a result of the vital activity of organisms, sedimentary rocks are formed: chalk, limestone, diatomite, etc.
The biomass of animals in the World Ocean is approximately 20 times greater than the biomass of plants, and it is especially large in the coastal zone.
The ocean is the cradle of life on Earth. The basis of life in the ocean itself, the primary link in a complex food chain is phytoplankton, single-celled green marine plants. These microscopic plants are eaten by herbivorous zooplankton and many species of small fish, which in turn serve as food for a range of nektonic, actively swimming predators. Organisms of the seabed - benthos (phytobenthos and zoobenthos) also take part in the ocean food chain. The total mass of living matter in the ocean is 29.9∙109 tons, with the biomass of zooplankton and zoobenthos accounting for 90% of the total mass of living matter in the ocean, the biomass of phytoplankton - about 3%, and the biomass of nekton (mainly fish) - 4% (Suetova, 1973; Dobrodeev, Suetova, 1976). In general, ocean biomass by weight is 200 times less, and per unit surface area is 1000 times less than land biomass. However, the annual production of living matter in the ocean is 4.3∙1011 tons. In units of live weight, it is close to the production of terrestrial plant mass - 4.5∙1011 tons. Since marine organisms contain much more water, in units of dry weight this ratio looks like like 1:2.25. The ratio of production of pure organic matter in the ocean is even lower (as 1:3.4) compared to that on land, since phytoplankton contains a higher percentage of ash elements than woody vegetation (Dobrodeev, Suetova, 1976). The fairly high productivity of living matter in the ocean is explained by the fact that the simplest organisms of phytoplankton have a short life span, they are renewed daily, and the total mass of living matter in the ocean averages approximately every 25 days. On land, biomass renewal occurs on average every 15 years. Living matter in the ocean is distributed very unevenly. The maximum concentrations of living matter in the open ocean - 2 kg/m2 - are located in the temperate zones of the northern Atlantic and northwestern Pacific oceans. On land, forest-steppe and steppe zones have the same biomass. Average values of biomass in the ocean (from 1.1 to 1.8 kg/m2) are found in areas of the temperate and equatorial zones; on land they correspond to the biomass of dry steppes of the temperate zone, semi-deserts of the subtropical zone, alpine and subalpine forests (Dobrodeev, Suetova, 1976) . In the ocean, the distribution of living matter depends on the vertical mixing of waters, causing nutrients to rise to the surface from the deep layers, where the process of photosynthesis occurs. Such zones of rising deep water are called upwelling zones; they are the most productive in the ocean. Zones of weak vertical mixing of waters are characterized by low levels of phytoplankton production - the first link in the biological productivity of the ocean, and poverty of life. Another characteristic feature of the distribution of life in the ocean is its concentration in the shallow zone. In areas of the ocean where the depth does not exceed 200 m, 59% of the biomass of bottom fauna is concentrated; depths between 200 and 3000 m account for 31.1% and areas with depths greater than 3000 m account for less than 10%. Of the climatic latitudinal zones in the World Ocean, the richest are the subantarctic and northern temperate zones: their biomass is 10 times greater than in the equatorial zone. On land, on the contrary, the highest values of living matter occur in the equatorial and subequatorial belts.
The basis of the biological cycle that ensures the existence of life is solar energy and the chlorophyll of green plants that captures it. Every living organism participates in the cycle of substances and energy, absorbing some substances from the external environment and releasing others. Biogeocenoses, consisting of a large number of species and bone components of the environment, carry out cycles through which atoms of various chemical elements move. Atoms constantly migrate through many living organisms and skeletal environments. Without the migration of atoms, life on Earth could not exist: plants without animals and bacteria would soon exhaust their reserves of carbon dioxide and minerals, and animal bases of plants would be deprived of a source of energy and oxygen.
Land surface biomass corresponds to the biomass of the land-air environment. It increases from the poles to the equator. At the same time, the number of plant species is increasing.
Arctic tundra – 150 plant species.
Tundra (shrubs and herbaceous) - up to 500 plant species.
Forest zone (coniferous forests + steppes (zone)) – 2000 species.
Subtropics (citrus fruits, palm trees) – 3000 species.
Deciduous forests (tropical rainforests) – 8,000 species. Plants grow in several tiers.
Animal biomass. The tropical forest has the largest biomass on the planet. Such saturation of life causes strict natural selection and the struggle for existence and => Adaptation of various species to the conditions of a common existence.