The Carbon Cycle

What is carbon cycle?

• Nutrient cycle in which CARBON ATOMS are RECYCLED through the ABIOTIC and BIOTIC parts of an environment.

What is carbon cycle?

• Consists of the processes in the BIOTIC environment:PHOTOSYNTHESIS (in AUTHOTROPHS)CERLLULAR RESPIRATION (in HETEROTROPHS & AUTOTROPHS)

AUTOTROPHS

• Organisms having the ability to synthesize their own food.

Examples:Plants & Algae

AUTOTROPHS

• Organisms that can make their own food, such us plants which make their food from INORGANIC substanceswhy are autotrophs important?

Called producers because they produce chemical energy for an entire ecosytem

Convert inorganic substances & light into organic substances containing CHEMICAL ENERGY (i.e. Food)

HETEROTROPHS

• Organisms that do not make their own food• Also known as consumers – they “eat other

things”• Ex. Deer, mushrooms (a decomposers), rabbits

HETEROTROPHS

• Various types of consumers:1. scavengers/ Detrivoresfeed on dead tissue of organisms (both plants and animals)

Ex. Vultures , Crows, and Shirmp

HETEROTROPHS

2. Herbivores Eat only plantsEx. –Cows, Elephants, Gireffes

HETEROTROPHS

3. Carnivores Eat ONLY meatex. Lions , tigers, sharks

HETEROTROPHS

4. Omnivoreseat BOTH plants and animalsex. –bears and humans

HETEROTROPHS

5. Decomposersabsorb any dead material and break

down ex. – bacteria and mushrooms

photosynthesis

• Takes place in autotrophs, specially in the leaves of green plants

• In photosynthesis, plants trap sunlight (energy from the sun) and use it to create food (sugar called glucose)

• Key- plants turn light energy into chemical energy

Photosynthesis Equation

• Photosynthesis is the process in which plants make food (sugar).

• Equation:reactants products

Carbon Dioxide+water+energy=sugar+oxygen

Photosynthesis

• Plants can’t use light energy directly, instead they must convert it to chemical energy in the process of photosynthesis

• This chemical energy is eitherUsed to survive (energy to live)Stored as physical part of the plant (called starch)Heterotrophs consume the plant material for this

stored chemical energy

Cellular Respiration

• Cellular Respiration is when food (chemical energy) is broken down to release energy

• This is called catabolism or “digestion”• Sugar (food) made by plants in photosynthesis

is broken down through Cellular Respiration into an “energy form” which can be used

Cellular Respiration

• Cellular Respiration takes place in the mitochondria of plants and animals cells

• In respiration, OXYGEN is combined with SUGAR to produce ENERGY, CARBON DIOXIDE , and WATER

Cellular Respiration

• The chemical equation for respiration, is essentially the opposite of photosynthesis

• Chemical Equation:Reactants Products

Sugar + Oxygen = Energy + Carbon Dioxide+ Water

Cellular Respiration & Photosynthesis are COMPLEMENTARY PROCESSES

Carbon storage

• Carbon is continually recycled in living ecosystems, but it can also be destroyed

• Ways of storing carbon:1. Inorganic Carbon Storage (non-living)2. Organic Carbon Storage (living)

Inorganic Carbon Storage

• Storage of carbon atoms in non-living things occurs in 3 ways:

1. ATMOSPHEREcarbon dioxide in the aircontains least stored carbon (0.03%)

Inorganic Carbon Storage

2. OCEANScarbon dioxide dissolved in waterused by water plants for photosynthesis

3. SOILcarbon stored in rocks such as limestonemost carbon is stored in soil/ rockcan be released when rocks are disturbed (volcanoes, acid rain)

Organic Carbon Storage

• Carbon is stored in the bodies of living things• Carbon is stored in living bodies is released

when then organisms dies and decomposes.• Carbon is continually being recycled• Carbon stored in a body can be turned into

fossil fuels (gas, coal, etc.)• Peat (dead plant material) which get buried

can turn into Coal