Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle exists in the ecosystem and plays a very important role in it. Carbon is found in every ecosystem, because every living things, whether it is humans, tigers or even plants, are composed of carbon compounds. The atmosphere is the main source of carbon for all ecosystem. The Carbon Cycle also ensures that there is a continuous supply of carbon dioxide for plants to carry out photosynthesis, which in turn produce oxygen and food, which is necessary for living things to survive. With food produce, it enables energy to flow through the ecosystem.

So, how does the process work? The following is the process taken:

Photosynthesis
- Carbon is absorbed in the form of CO2, carbon dioxide and is converted to glucose which may then be used for respiration and for building of protoplasm in plants.
- The plants are then consumed by primary consumers, which carbon and energy is then transferred in to them. With successive feeding, carbon compounds move up to higher tropic levels in the ecosystem.

Respiration
- When plants and animals respire, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

Decomposition
- As organisms die, they decay and decomposed, which releases carbon dioxide back into the environment.

Destruction of vegetation
- As bush fires occurs, plants are being burnt down by large forests which releases large quantities of carbon dioxide into the environment.

Sedimentation and Mineralization
- In the form of fossils where carbon is stored into organism which did not undergo decomposition when they died.
- Found in shells of organisms in the sea where they are in the form of bicarbonate. When the organisms die, their shells sink to the bottom of the sea and become compacted. Over a long period of time, they become limestone(calcium carbonate) which stores carbon.

The above can be seen in the diagram below:







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