standing crop

American  

noun

1. the totality of living things in an ecosystem at a given time.

2. a growing crop.

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Etymology

Origin of standing crop

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

His own studies have demonstrated that stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in leaves end up, via shredding invertebrates, stored away in the flesh of salamanders — like “a standing crop of nutrients,” he said.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2014

It is a machine drawn through the ripe standing crop by three or four horses attached to its side.

From Wheat Growing in Australia by Australia. Dept. of External Affairs

The corn eaten early in the season was undoubtedly from the standing crop.

From Food of the Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm, in South-central Kansas by Platt, Dwight

As he grew older, he was taught to sow and reap, to estimate the value of a standing crop at a glance, and, last but not least, to drive a hard bargain.

From The Champdoce Mystery by Gaboriau, Émile

They will feed their horse on the standing crop, their men on the garnered grain,15 The thatch of the byres will serve their fires when all the cattle are slain.

From Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year by Hartwell, E. C. (Ernest Clark)