Biomass

The three basic requirements for life are Energy and Water so that the necessary biochemistry can take place to create Biomass.

Being at the top of the Food Chain means by definition that we have mastered the art of Energy appropriation from Biomass.

The term “Food Chain” references how algae are food for zooplankton, zooplankton are food for small fish, small fish are food for big fish, big fish are food for mammals etc. In our conventional scientific model these are portrayed as sequential links in a chain, hence the “Food Chain”.

Systems Theory has concepts of Feedback and Fractal mathematics where the output of one iteration of an equation is fed back as the input for the next iteration.

Now apply these concepts the Nutrient Cycle; nutrients are assimilated by algae to produce algal Biomass, which is eaten by zooplankton, which digests the algae and re-processes the nutrients, to produce zooplankton Biomass, which is eaten by small fish which digests the zooplankton and re-processes the nutrients to produce fish Biomass and so on.

Understanding Biomass formation in the Systems Theory paradigm where the output of Biomass formation is fed back (literally) into the Nutrient Cycle for the next iteration more accurately describes the process than the mechanical Newtonian concept of a chain.

Fractal mathematics is a described as a “recursive, and infinitely self-similar set”. This sounds like a good description of how nutrients are infinitely recycled to produce the biochemical set of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins, all similar in every manifestation of Biomass, but equally every manifestation of Biomass is distinctly unique.

Now consider the fractally recursive manner in which fecal waste at every level of the Food Chain recycles nutrients back into the Nutrient Cycle again.

Biomass is therefore infinitely renewable provided the balance and performance of the Nutrient Cycle is maintained and optimized. Optimizing the Nutrient Cycle means recycling nutrients faster and more efficiently, and ensuring that nutrients are directed into the production of Biomass in forms that are food for us, ie not algae and Cyanobacteria but fish, crops, dairy, eggs and meat.

Achieving Renewable Water depends on optimizing the Water Cycle to ensure that Biomass formation in the aquatic environment is not dominated by the production of algae and Cyanobacteria to ensure that water quality is maintained at a level that allows it to be recycled faster and more efficiently for reuse for irrigation to produce food Biomass or to service our needs for potable water and water borne sanitation.

In other words, the same principles of Systems Theory apply to the optimization of both the Nutrient Cycle and the Water Cycle in order to maintain the Renewable attributes.

Understanding how distortions in the Nutrient Cycle degrade water quality in the Water Cycle to impair both water supply and food production at the WEB Nexus is critical to sustainable resource management.

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