Question

What happens to carbon in plants when the plants die?(1 point)
Responses

The carbon is converted into rocks.
The carbon is converted into rocks.

The carbon disappears during decomposition.
The carbon disappears during decomposition.

The carbon stays in the plants' bodies, which do not decompose.
The carbon stays in the plants' bodies, which do not decompose.

The carbon is released into the environment.
The carbon is released into the environment.

Answer 1

The carbon is released into the environment.

When plants die, decomposers break down their tissues, returning carbon to the air as CO2 (or into the soil as organic matter, and only over long timescales some may become fossil carbon/rock).