The Carbon Cycle
Think of the carbon cycle as nature's ultimate storage and delivery system. Carbon gets stored in loads of different places called carbon stores - in the air as carbon dioxide, locked inside plants and animals as biological molecules, buried in soil, and deep underground as fossil fuels.
Here's where it gets interesting: photosynthesis pulls carbon dioxide from the air and plants use it to make glucose and grow bigger. When animals munch on plants, that carbon gets passed along the food chain. Both plants and animals release carbon dioxide back into the air through respiration - it's like nature's breathing system.
When living things die, microorganisms break them down through decay, releasing more CO₂. Sometimes decay happens without oxygen (anaerobic conditions), and over millions of years, this creates fossil fuels. When humans burn these fossil fuels, we're basically releasing ancient stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
Remember This: Photosynthesis takes carbon IN, respiration puts carbon OUT. It's that simple!
Nutrient recycling through these cycles is absolutely crucial because it gives all organisms the materials they need to grow and reproduce. Without these cycles, life on Earth would grind to a halt.