Description of the Biological Carbon Cycle

The Biological Carbon Cycle

What is the carbon cycle?
The carbon cycle is the rotation of carbon atoms in the biosphere and oceans as a result of photosynthetic conversion of carbon dioxide into complex organic compounds by plants, which are consumed by other organisms: the carbon returns to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. The biological component of the carbon cycle is driven by respiration and photosynthesis by living organisms. Carbon is a fundamental building block of life; life on Earth is comprised of carbon-based life forms.
The carbohydrates then become the foundation for a system of chemical energy that fuels living cells in all plants and animals (consumers). In plants, some carbon remains within glucose for short-term energy use, while some is converted to starch for longer term energy storage. The carbon that is absorbed from the atmosphere by plants and animals can take several paths before reentering the air as carbon dioxide. When a plant dies, it is broken down by microorganisms (decomposers) that feed on the dead organic matter. As the microorganisms consume the plant matter, they release some of the plant's carbon into the atmosphere in the form of CO2, although some is destined for longer-term storage in trunks and branches of trees and in the bodies of plant-eating animals or carnivorous animals that eat plant-eating animals. These animals then return more of the carbon to the atmosphere as CO2 through respiration, although some will be stored within their bodies until they die and decompose in the soil. Finally, there will be carbon that remains stored in organic matter that does not decompose.

What it does for life on Earth.

Carbon is the backbone of life on Earth. We are made of carbon, we eat carbon, and our civilizations (our economies, our homes, our means of transport) are built and dependent on carbon. We need carbon, but that need is also entwined with one of the most serious problems facing us today: global climate change. In photosynthesis, light combines with carbon dioxide and water to create carbohydrate molecules known as sucrose (C6H12O6). In oceans, photosynthesis is carried out by microscopic aquatic plants called phytoplankton.

This diagram of the fast carbon cycle shows the movement of carbon between land, atmosphere, and oceans. Yellow numbers are natural fluxes, and red are human contributions in gigatons of carbon per year. White numbers indicate stored carbon. (Diagram adapted from U.S. DOE, Biological and Environmental Research Information System.)