Kasvamassa

Kasvamassa (Finnish: growth mass) is a term used in biology and ecology to describe the amount of living material produced by an organism or community during a period of growth. It is typically equated with biomass, especially when talking about dry mass, but in some contexts fresh mass including water content is used. The concept is central to quantifying productivity and growth dynamics in organisms such as plants, fungi, microorganisms, and animal tissues.

Measurement and units: kasvamassa is usually expressed as mass, for example grams or kilograms of dry biomass per plant, per square meter, or per liter of culture. In practice, researchers harvest samples to determine dry weight after drying at a specified temperature, or they estimate biomass non-destructively using allometric equations, chlorophyll fluorescence, or remote sensing.

Applications: in forestry and agriculture, kasvamassa indicates biomass accumulation and helps assess yield potential and carbon sequestration. In microbiology and bioprocessing, it tracks culture growth and informs process optimization. In ecology, it is used to evaluate primary production and trophic energy transfer in ecosystems.

Measurement of growth rate: growth is often represented by a growth curve; the specific growth rate and doubling time derive from changes in kasvamassa over time. Factors influencing kasvamassa include genetics, nutrient availability, temperature, moisture, light, and management practices.

Etymology: the term combines kasva, to grow, with massa, mass, and is used in Finnish scientific literature to discuss growth-related biomass concepts.