Fun fact: Carbon as an element is the second most abundant element found in living organisms! All organic molecules have Carbon, even rocks, oceans, and atmosphere!
According to this study note by our Knowunity user Xiuyi, carbon cycle is the movement of carbon between abiotic and biotic factors. To put simply, we can observe carbon cycle in two categories; carbon exchange between living organisms and cycling of carbon through a geologic process. These cycles are known as biological carbon cycle and biogeochemical carbon cycle respectively.
Carbon moves through the planet like a traveller, it can be found in the air, water, all living organisms, and even soil. Story of the carbon cycle starts at carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a gas. Plants use carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and use the energy they gain from sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into food. When animals eat these plants, they consume that carbon and it becomes a part of them. When plants and animals breathe out or die and decompose, the carbon in them returns to nature as carbon dioxide in the air or carbon in the ground. When carbon stays underground for a long time, it turns into fossil fuels like coal and oil.
As Bee explains in her study note , the oceans also take part in the carbon cycle. Tiny organisms like algae use carbon dioxide like plants do. When they die and sink to the bottom of the ocean, the carbon in them becomes a part of the sea bed.
According to Catalina’s study note on environmental effects of the carbon cycle, burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and when done in extreme amounts it causes global warming like we face today. Carbon dioxide traps the heat and makes the planet warmer. Understanding the carbon cycle, also helps us understand the environmental crisis that is climate change due to global warming.