Question

Outline salient features of carbon cycling in an ecosystem.

Answer 1

The carbon cycle is an important gaseous cyclewhich has its reservoir pool in the atmosphere. All living organisms contain carbon as a major body constituent.

Answer 2

Answer:

The carbon cycle is an essential gaseous cycle which has its reservoir pool in the atmosphere. All of the living entities consist of carbon as a major constituent of the body. This carbon is a basic element present in all the living forms. Biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, proteins etc that are crucial for life processes are made of carbon. Living forms are incorporated with carbon through the basic process of photosynthesis that is carried out by plants, the primary producers. The process of photosynthesis uses up atmospheric carbon dioxide and sunlight to produce a carbon compound known as ‘glucose’, this in turn is used by other living entities.

Hence, atmospheric carbon gets incorporated into life forms. It now becomes necessary to recycle this absorbed carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere to complete the cycle. For this recycling of carbon back to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide gas, various processes can be carried out. The respiration process disintegrates glucose molecules to produce carbon dioxide gas. The decomposition process gives out carbon dioxide from dead bodies of animals and plants into the atmosphere. Some other sources of carbon dioxide are industrialization, combustion of fuels, deforestation, forest fires, volcanic eruptions and so on.