# Biomass: Across the Earth

Fuelwood in poorer countries, power plants in richer ones

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

What this tab covers How the resource varies with latitude, climate, terrain and geology: the richest and poorest regions and the leading countries.

Productivity is highest in the wet tropics and lowest in deserts and tundra; use is split between traditional fuelwood in poorer countries and modern bioenergy in China, Brazil, the United States, India and Europe.

NPP rises with warmth and rainfall: tropical rainforests and savannas account for over 60% of land production, deserts and tundra for under 3%. On land, NPP per square metre is about three times that of the open ocean.

#### Rich and poor regions

| Region | Resource | Level |
|---|---|---|
| **Tropical rainforests** | 17.8 Pg C/yr^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) | high |
| **Savannas** | 16.8 Pg C/yr^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) | high |
| **Cultivated land** | 8.0 Pg C/yr^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) | medium |
| **Needleleaf evergreen (boreal and temperate) forests** | 3.1 Pg C/yr^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) | medium |
| **Tundra** | 0.8 Pg C/yr^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) | low |
| **Deserts** | 0.5 Pg C/yr^[1](https://fenix.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/downloadFile/1126037345799583/Field_et_al_1998_Science_Primary Production of the Biosphere.pdf) | low |

#### Top countries by bioenergy power capacity 2022 ^[6](https://www.ren21.net/gsr-2023/modules/energy_supply/02_market_developments/01_bioenergy/)

| Country | GW |
|---|---|
| **China** | 34 |
| **Brazil** | 17 |
| **United States** | 11 |
| **India** | 10 |

Traditional use of biomass (wood, charcoal, dung and crop waste burned for cooking and heating) makes up more than half of all bioenergy use, mainly in Asia and Africa; in sub-Saharan Africa only 17% of people had access to clean cooking in 2020. Modern bioenergy is concentrated elsewhere: China generated 172 TWh of biomass electricity in 2022, over a quarter of the world total, the United States and Brazil produced more than 80% of the world's ethanol in 2021, and Europe accounts for 90% of bioheat produced from municipal waste, solid biofuels and biogas (REN21).

#### 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. [Renewables 2023 Global Status Report: Bioenergy](https://www.ren21.net/gsr-2023/modules/energy_supply/02_market_developments/01_bioenergy/) REN21, 2023

## 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)
- [Abundance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/abundance/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/time/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)