Role of Organisms in Carbon Cycle

Our Planet
© Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

Organisms play an important role in the carbon cycle in the following ways:

  • Plants absorb carbon from the environment in photosynthesis and return it in respiration.
  • Animals obtain their carbon by eating plants; they release carbon in respiration.
  • Micrororganisms (such as fungi and bacteria) return carbon to the environment when they decompose dead plants and animals.
  • Burning fossil fuels increases carbon dioxide in air and deforestation decreases uptake of carbon dioxide by plants (The Physics Teacher, 2018).

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