If you’ve heard the term "biomass" being tossed around in discussions about forests or sustainability, but you’re not exactly sure what it means or how it’s used, you’re not alone. Biomass plays a key role in understanding forest health and environmental sustainability, but it can sound complex at first.
In this article, we’ll break down what biomass is, why it matters, and how it’s measured. Whether you’re in forestry, environmental science, or just curious about how forests are managed, this guide will help you get a clear picture of biomass and its significance.
Biomass refers to the total mass of all living things in a particular area, like a forest. It includes trees, plants, animals, and microorganisms, but in most forestry-related discussions, biomass typically refers to the trees and vegetation that make up a forest.
When we talk about forest biomass, we’re often focusing on the amount of carbon stored in the trees and other plants. This is important because trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, helping reduce the amount of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.
Biomass can be reported in a few different ways, Above Ground Biomass (AGB), Below Ground Biomass (BGB) and Total Biomass. These are pretty self explanatory, in that above ground incorporates the vegetation that is visible to us, above the ground, and below ground relates to the roots.
There are a few key reasons why biomass is so important, especially in the context of forests:
A variety of people and organizations use biomass data to make decisions about forests and the environment. Some examples include:
Traditionally, measuring biomass involved physically going into a forest, counting trees, and estimating their volume based on metrics of height and diameter at breast height (DBH).This is known as a manual survey, and while it works for small areas, it’s time-consuming and less precise for large forests.
Today, technology like drones and advanced software (such as Birdi) makes biomass measurement faster and more accurate (and less invasive compared to destructive biomass sampling, which involves calculating carbon content off of leaf, stem, fruit and root weight recordings). Drones can capture images of the forest, and platforms like Birdi process that data to calculate the biomass based on things like tree height, density and canopy coverage (the amount of ground shaded by tree leaves). These metrics, incorporated into calculations based on well-known and researched, species-specific allometry databases, allows Above Ground Biomass to be estimated. This allows forestry professionals to measure large areas in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods.
Monitoring and measuring biomass is key to goals of net zero carbon emissions and protecting the natural environment from deforestation and degradation. By tracking how much carbon forests can absorb, how healthy they are, and whether they’re being managed sustainably, informed decisions and action can take place in environmental management across a range of industries. For example, a forest that’s losing biomass could indicate deforestation or environmental degradation, while an increase in biomass might show successful reforestation efforts.
Forests with high biomass are important for maintaining biodiversity and supporting ecosystems, and they play a huge role in climate change mitigation by acting as natural carbon sinks.
Whether you’re managing a forest or studying its environmental impact, understanding biomass is key to making informed, sustainable decisions. Tools like Birdi simplify this process by offering easy-to-use solutions for measuring and tracking biomass over time, giving foresters and environmentalists the data they need to protect our forests and combat climate change.