carbon cycle

• Carbon


  An element that is vital to most living organisms on Earth
• Carbon


  • Has the ability to cycle through the Earth's atmosphere, the ocean, living factors, abiotic factors, and human influence
• Major locations where carbon cycles

  • Atmosphere
  • Terrestrial biosphere (land)
  • Earth's interior
  • Ocean
  • Human influence
• Atmospheric carbon


  Found in the forms of carbon dioxide and methane
• Atmospheric carbon absorption


  1. Absorbed by autotrophs like plants and plankton for photosynthesis

  2. Absorbed by bodies of water and the ocean, reacting with water to create carbonic acid
• Carbon in the terrestrial biosphere

  1. Plants absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis

  2. Animals release carbon dioxide during cellular respiration

  3. Heterotrophs eat plants containing carbon

  4. Animals release methane during digestion

  5. Decomposers in the soil release carbon into the atmosphere and the soil
• Carbon in the Earth's interior

  • Includes fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, along with deposits like limestone
  • Volcanoes may release some of this stored carbon
• Ocean


  • Has the greatest exchange quantity of cycled carbon and stores a large amount of carbon
  • Absorbs carbon dioxide
  • Contains plankton that absorbs carbon dioxide for photosynthesis
• Human influence on the carbon cycle

  1. Burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

  2. Production of clinker for cement from limestone releases carbon

  3. Deforestation can cause an increase in atmospheric carbon
• carbon cycle