2. Carbon cycle The Carbon Cycle is a complex series of processes through which all of the carbon atoms in existence rotate. The same carbon atoms in your body today have been used in countless other molecules since time began. The wood burned just a few decades ago could have produced carbon dioxide which through photosynthesis became part of a plant.
3. Carbon cycle con,t When you eat that plant, the same carbon from the wood which was burnt can become part of you. The carbon cycle is the great natural recycler of carbon atoms. Without the proper functioning of the carbon cycle, every aspect of life could be changed dramatically. Plants, animals, and soil interact to make up the basic cycles of nature. In the carbon cycle, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and utilize it, combined with water they get from the soil, to make the substances they need for growth.
4. Carbon cycle con,t . The process of photosynthesis incorporates the carbon atoms from carbon dioxide into sugars. Animals, such as the rabbit pictured here, eat the plants and use the carbon to build their own tissues. Other animals, such as the fox, eat the rabbit and then use the carbon for their own needs. These animals return carbon dioxide into the air when they breathe, and when they die, since the carbon is returned to the soil during decomposition.
5. Carbon cycle con,t The carbon atoms in soil may then be used in a new plant or small microorganisms. Ultimately, the same carbon atom can move through many organisms and even end in the same place where it began.
7. Carbon cycle con,t Despite containing less than 0.04% carbon dioxide, the atmosphere acts as the major pool of carbon. The turnover of this carbon dioxide is considerable. It is removed from the air by the photosynthetic activities of green plants and returned as a result of the respiration of all organisms. This may lead to short-term fluctuations in the proportions of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. For example the concentration of carbon dioxide varies daily, being up to 40 parts per million (ppm) higher at night, and seasonally -it is around 16ppm lower in summer than in winter. These differences are accounted for by changes in the rate of photosynthesis.
8. The importance of the carbon cycle The carbon cycle is vitally important to life on earth. Through photosynthesis and respiration, it is the way the earth produces food and other renewal resources. Through decomposition, it serves as the earth's waste disposal system. In addition, the carbon cycle is important because carbon-containing gases in the atmosphere affect the earth's climate. Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has been responsible for more than half of the climate warming observed in recent decades.
