Carbon cycle

Carbon cycle is the process in which carbon moves between the different reservoirs such as biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the earth. In this article, you will learn definition, carbon cycle flow chart, carbon cycle explanation, description of the carbon cycle for , providing key insights for GS Paper-III Environment and ecology section of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• What is the Carbon Cycle?
• The global carbon cycle
• Carbon cycle diagram
• Carbon Cycle Steps           
• Impact of human activities
• Human impact on carbon cycle
• Conclusion of carbon cycle
• Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Carbon Cycle?

• Definition: the carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon moves between the different reservoirs such as biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the earth.
• As Carbon is highly soluble in water; hence, oceans also contain large quantities of dissolved carbon dioxide.

The global carbon cycle:

• Definition: The global carbon cycle is the movements of carbon due to various chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes.
• Categories of global carbon cycle: the geological that operates over long time and the biological – physical operates for short time scales.

Carbon cycle diagram:

Carbon Cycle Steps:

• Plants uses sunlight as a process of photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose or starch.
  • Photosynthesis equation: CO₂ + H₂O + energy → (CH₂O)n +O₂
• When an animal eats a plant, it takes in the carbon that was stored in the plant’s tissues.
• Some of the carbon is released back into the atmosphere in form of respiration and for their own metabolism during the life time of an organism.
  • Breakdown of starch in energy: (CH₂O)n +O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O
• Role of bacteria in carbon cycle: bacteria break down the organic compounds either into the solid carbon or the carbon dioxide that is released back into the atmosphere.
  • Forests acts as reservoirs of CO2 as carbon fixed by the them remains stored in them for long due to their long-life cycles.
• Oceancarbon cycle: as Oceanic plants absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, it is then utilised by the animals to form shells etc.
  • The carbon in animal parts like shells undergo compaction and form rocks containing carbonates or limestone.
• Some of the carbon that is not released into atmosphere is buried underground to form fossil fuels– coal, oil, and natural gas.
• When fossil fuels are burned, the carbon that they contain is released back into the atmosphere.
• Some reserves of carbon occur as carbonate rocks but they are not accessible to plants and animals.

Human impact on carbon cycle:

• Human activities have disrupted the global carbon cycle since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
• The burning of fossil fuels and large-scale deforestation are the leading causes of this disruption.
• Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, as it traps heat in the atmosphere leading to global warming.
• The increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is leading to a number of changes, including:
  • Rising temperatures
  • Melting glaciers and ice sheets
  • More extreme weather events
  • Changes in plant and animal life

Conclusion of carbon cycle:

Importance of Carbon cycle in nature relies on the fact that many organisms depend on the carbon to gain energy and in the form of shell protect the organism among other such important functions. Significance of carbon cycle is that the primary producers absorbs carbon to intimate the nutritional cycle of all other organsims. Yet, carbon presence in atmosphere is harmful for the environment and all organisms.

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FAQs (frequently asked question)