What are the stages of the carbon cycle?
1 Answer
Plants and animals emit CO2 during respiration, photosynthetic plants use CO2 in photosynthesis, organisms give off CO2 when they decompose, and carbon is stored fossil fuels and sediments.
Explanation:
A simple carbon cycle without interference from human activity includes the following stages: plants and animals emit CO2 during respiration, photosynthetic plants use CO2 in photosynthesis, organisms give off CO2 when they decompose, and carbon is stored fossil fuels and sediments for long periods of time before processes such as erosion and
Humans use fossil fuels in the ground (oil, gas, coal) and when these fuels are burned, they emit CO2, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon ends up in the ground when plants and other organic matter decays and is buried for very, very long periods of time.
Simple carbon cycle:
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The ocean stores a lot of carbon. Gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere is always occurring, but overall the ocean stores CO2. It's important to remember that phytoplankton also use CO2 for photosynthesis and store carbon and that the processes of decomposition and carbon storage also occur in the ocean. Read more about the ocean and the carbon cycle here.
