Carbon cycle Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is the Earth’s major resvoir of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide?
the atmosphere
How does carbon enter the living part of the ecosystem?
Through photosynthesis
How is carbon dioxide returned to the atmosphere
Respiration in plants
How is carbon passed into primary consumers, animals
Plant consumption
Where does respiration take place and what does it do?
It takes place n the cells of primary and secondary consumers and carbon is released back into the environment.
What form of carbon is released from the cells of consumers?
Carbon dioxide
When consumers die how does their organic matter enter the soil
Through a process called decay
How are dead consumers broken down
By decomposers or detritus feeders which are small animals that subsist decaying matter such as fallen leaves, dead bodies, and animal waste.
What does the respitarion of detritus feeders also return
Carbon to the atmosphere.
What are the products of the combustion of fossil fuels
carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds.
How does carbon exchange with oceans
Some carbon in the air dissolves in the ocean and combines with calcium to form calcium carbonate.
