biomassn.
/ˈbʌɪə(ʊ)mas/, U.S. /ˈbaɪoʊˌmæs/ 1. The total quantity, usually expressed as weight, of specified organisms (or organic material) in a given area or volume of habitat.
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the world > life > biology > balance of nature > population > [noun] > weight of
biomass1931
1931 Jrnl. du Conseil 6 403 (note) Distribution of the biomass of the bottom fauna in the Southern Barents-Sea.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 237/1 This method uses weights of population samples (biomass) instead of counts of individuals.
1973 T. R. Parsons & M. Takahashi Biol. Oceanogr. Processes iv. 134 The biomass of large trout feeding as piscivores was similar to the biomass of small trout feeding as planktivores.
1991 N.Y. Times Mag. 22 Dec. 23/2 In 1860, man and domestic species accounted for 5 percent of terrestrial animal biomass—the net total weight of all animal life on the continents.
2007 New Yorker 20 Aug. 63/2 Fully half of a forest's biomass lies below ground, and half of that is fungal.
2. Organic material regarded as a source of fuel; (potential) fuel derived directly from living matter.
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the world > life > biology > organism > proto-organism > [noun] > living matter as a source of fuel
biomass1975
1975 Chem. & Engin. News 2 June 19/2 Klass has computed the data for several proposed schemes for converting biomass into fuels.
1986 Forestry 59 238 The potential of eucalypts for producing biomass and fuelwood has not been fully explored.
2000 Cutting Edge: Encycl. Adv. Technol. 26/2 When plants are burned at biomass power stations, the same amount of carbon dioxide that they absorbed during their growth is released into the atmosphere.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1931