What is the difference between biomass and biodiversity?

1 Answer
Feb 12, 2017

In ecology, biomass is a measure of mass of every living organism in a given area, in renewable energy waste and recently deceased organisms are included, and biodiversity is a measure of the variety of life in a given area.

Explanation:

Biomass is a measure of mass of every living organism in a given area. Plants, insects, mammals, and so forth are all included in biomass estimates.

Biomass is also used as a source of fuel. In these instances, waste products and recently deceased organisms may be included in the definition of biomass. In the context of ecosystems and natural landscapes, waste and deceased organisms are not typically included in biomass estimates.

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/renewable-electricity/bioenergy-systems/7389

Biodiversity is a measure of the variety of life in a given area. While sometimes this term is used to refer to the number of species in an area, biodiversity technically refers to both species richness and species abundance.