# Biomass: Abundance

A vast flow that people already mostly use

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/abundance/

What this tab covers How much of this energy there is: the natural flow or stock, the share that could be harnessed, and how much is used today, compared with world primary energy use (592 EJ in 2024).

Land plants fix around 2,200 EJ a year, almost four times world primary energy use, but people already appropriate a large share for food, feed and timber; bioenergy supplies about 56 EJ.
 A flow: renewed continuously

#### How much there is

| Measure | Value | Compared with world energy use | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Global net primary production (land + ocean)** | 104.9 Pg (billion tonnes) of carbon per year^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) |  | Land 56.4, ocean 48.5 Pg C/yr. |
| **Terrestrial NPP in energy terms** | about 2,200 EJ per year^[3](https://oa.tib.eu/renate/bitstream/123456789/5455/1/Haberl%20et%20al%202010%2c%20The%20global%20technical%20potential%20of%20bio-energy%20in%202050%20considering%20sustainability%20constraints.pdf) | about 3.7 times world primary energy use | About 1,240 EJ/yr of this is above ground. |
| **Standing stock of plant biomass** | about 450 Gt of carbon^[2](https://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?id=115270) |  | About 80% of all biomass on Earth (about 550 Gt C). |
| **Biomass harvested or destroyed by people** | about 370 EJ per year^[3](https://oa.tib.eu/renate/bitstream/123456789/5455/1/Haberl%20et%20al%202010%2c%20The%20global%20technical%20potential%20of%20bio-energy%20in%202050%20considering%20sustainability%20constraints.pdf) | about 63% of world primary energy use | Includes food, feed, timber and biomass burned or destroyed during harvest. |
| **Bioenergy supply (2023)** | 56 EJ^[5](https://bioenergyinternational.com/wba-launches-2025-global-bioenergy-statistics-report/) | about 9.5% of world primary energy use | Mostly traditional fuelwood and charcoal. |
| **Bioenergy potential in 2050** | about 80-250 EJ per year^[4](https://content.cld.iop.org/journals/1748-9326/8/3/031004/revision1/abstract-transcript-477553-va.txt) | about 14-42% of today's world primary energy use | 80 EJ with sustainability constraints; 250 EJ judged an upper ceiling. |

Biomass is both a stock and a flow. The stock, about 450 Gt of carbon in plants, mostly trees, took decades to centuries to accumulate and can be drawn down far faster than it regrows. The flow is net primary production, about 105 Gt of carbon a year, split roughly evenly between land and sea; only the land part is practically harvestable.

Against world primary energy use of 592 EJ in 2024 (Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025), terrestrial NPP looks generous, but most of it must stay in ecosystems, and people already harvest about 370 EJ a year. Published bioenergy potentials span 30-1,300 EJ a year; Haberl and colleagues argue that more than about 250 EJ is unrealistic and that about 80 EJ is compatible with sustainability limits.

#### Sources

1. [Primary Production of the Biosphere: Integrating Terrestrial and Oceanic Components (Field, Behrenfeld, Randerson and Falkowski, Science 281)](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) AAAS, 1998
2. [Total plant biomass on Earth (BioNumbers entry for Bar-On, Phillips and Milo, The biomass distribution on Earth, PNAS 115)](https://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?id=115270) Harvard Medical School BioNumbers, 2018
3. [The global technical potential of bio-energy in 2050 considering sustainability constraints (Haberl et al., Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 2)](https://oa.tib.eu/renate/bitstream/123456789/5455/1/Haberl%20et%20al%202010%2c%20The%20global%20technical%20potential%20of%20bio-energy%20in%202050%20considering%20sustainability%20constraints.pdf) Elsevier, 2010
4. [Bioenergy: how much can we expect for 2050? (Haberl et al., Environmental Research Letters 8, 031004)](https://content.cld.iop.org/journals/1748-9326/8/3/031004/revision1/abstract-transcript-477553-va.txt) IOP Publishing, 2013
5. [WBA launches 2025 Global Bioenergy Statistics report](https://bioenergyinternational.com/wba-launches-2025-global-bioenergy-statistics-report/) Bioenergy International (reporting World Bioenergy Association), 2025

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/correlation/index.md)
- [How energy resides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/resides/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/time/index.md)
- [Across the Earth](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/geography/index.md)
- [Impact on nature](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/nature/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/links/index.md)