Maintaining very small ecosystems

>
> If the biosphere-2 team are correct, and it really does require a whole 3
> acres to support 8 healthy human beings (1500m2 each), then a colony the
> size of island-1 would support only 800-900 people.
>
> The biosphere-2 people were trying to re-create a wide variety of diverse
> biomes as seen on Earth. In the agricultural areas of Island One, the only
> concern would be providing good conditions for growing crops, with
> conditions probably being a good deal more monotonous. So we might expect
> greater productivity.
>

Moreover, according to the story, the number of people (8) was not decided
on by the maximum number of people the Biosphere could comfortably
support, but as an ideal team size for a group of people entering
"extreme" conditions. While it's true that the team lost a lot of weight
due to not enough food, it seems likely that the biosphere could undergo
considerable tweaking to support more people if required or desired.

--Justin