Carbon Cycle

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During photosynthesis organisms convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into carbon containing compounds such as sugars and cellulose. These compounds are then utilized by primary consumers such as cattle or elk, which, by the process of respiration, convert the carbon containing compounds into carbon dioxide and water. These processes viewed on a global scale, is called the Carbon Cycle.

In the carbon cycle the primary photoynthesizers are the plants, phytoplankton, marine algae, and cyanobacteria. These organisms utilize carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen which the photosynthesizes use themselves. Plants do release carbon dioxide from their leaves and roots, and phytoplankton and marine algae and cyanobacteria, release carbon dioxide into the water where it maintains in equilibrium with the carbon dioxide of the air.

Not only is carbon dioxide released by plants, it is also released by animals which eat the plants and animals which eat those animals during the process of respiration. Carbon dioxide is also released by the combustion of organic carbon sources such as wood, coal and oil. An enormous amount of organic carbon resides in the bodies of dead plants and animals, along with the wastes of living animals. Decomposers, such as fungi and other small invertebrates, consume this Carbon; these decomposers also released carbon dioxide.

Up until the industrial revolution the processes of Photosynthesis and respiration were essentially in balance with one another. Although carbon dioxide is only a portion of the atmosphere, along with water vapor, and methane and the other greenhouse gasses, it plays a major role in the ecosystems on earth.

These Green house gasses absorb infrared radiation from the sun, while allowing sunlight to pass through. It also blocks infrared radiation (heat) from being lost in space, so as the amount of these green house gasses increases the amount of heat lost from the earth decreases causing the overall temperature of earth to increase. Global warming produced in this manner is known as the greenhouse effect. The green house effect is due mainly to our use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, the plowing of the soil and the destruction and burning of the tropical forests.