Biomass: Potential Sources, Abundance, and Distribution

Biomass is the organic mass obtained from all living organisms and is considered to be a renewal energy source of immense potential. It includes not only the bulk mass of plants, animals, and fungi but also the microbial biomass represented by bacteria, archaea bacteria, algae, and viruses. Even though plant biomass dominates the terrestrial environment, microbial biomass is found in abundance in marine environment. In marine biomass, the major share is contributed by bacteria and protists, whereas fishes and arthropods constitute the rest. From land to deep subsurface, biomass distribution and abundance show tremendous variations and are unique to each environment. This chapter will give an overview of different biomass like plants, algae, bacteria, archaea bacteria, protists, fungi, animals, and viruses.