Biomass (ecology) - Terrestrial Biomass

Terrestrial Biomass

Terrestrial biomass generally decreases markedly at each higher trophic level (plants, herbivores, carnivores). Examples of terrestrial producers are grasses, trees and shrubs. These have a much higher biomass than the animals that consume them, such as deer, zebras and insects. The level with the least biomass are the highest predators in the food chain, such as foxes and eagles.

In a temperate grassland, grasses and other plants are the primary producers at the bottom of the pyramid. Then come the primary consumers, grasshoppers, voles and bison, followed by the secondary consumers, shrews, hawks and small cats, and finally the tertiary consumers, large cats and wolves. The biomass pyramid is not inverted, but decreases markedly at each higher level.