5.8 Getting the balance right

Question 1

Carbon cycle

Answer 1

The way in which the element
carbon is cycled through an ecosystem. Carboncontaining
compounds in plants are passed to
herbivores and then to carnivores in food.
Carbon dioxide is released from these carboncontaining
compounds in the process of
respiration. Carbon dioxide is taken up again by
plants and converted back to carbon-containing
compounds in photosynthesis. Processes such
as the burning of fossil fuels affect the carbon
cycle by increasing the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere. Microorganisms and
detritivores have an important role in recycling
carbon in dead material.