Asked by j

Explain the role of organisms in the carbon cycle. short paragraph

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Plants, algae and photosynthetic microbes take in atmospheric CO2 and convert it into organic carbon through photosynthesis, forming the base of food webs. Herbivores, predators and detritivores transfer that carbon as they eat and grow, releasing CO2 back to the atmosphere (and methane in some anaerobic conditions) through respiration. Decomposers and microbes break down dead organisms and waste, returning carbon to the soil and atmosphere or, over long timescales, contributing to buried carbon that can become fossil fuels. Together these biological processes regulate short- and long-term carbon storage and fluxes, and are altered by human activities like deforestation and fossil fuel burning.