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The Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.

Bioremediation

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Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
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The Calvin Benson Cycle

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Ribulose 1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCo) is a critical enzyme that catalyzes carbon dioxide assimilation during photosynthesis. However, it is an inefficient enzyme, having an extremely slow catalytic rate. A typical enzyme can process about a thousand molecules per second; however, RuBisCo fixes only around three-carbon dioxides per second. Photosynthetic cells compensate for this slow rate by synthesizing very high amounts of RuBisCo, making it the most abundant single...

Global Climate Change

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Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.

What are Biogeochemical Cycles?

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 21, 2025

Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.

Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.

Published on: June 4, 2021

Looking beyond the trees for carbon storage.

Josep G Canadell¹

¹CSIRO Environment, Canberra, Australia.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|March 20, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Nonliving organic matter can establish more resilient carbon reservoirs. This finding is crucial for understanding long-term carbon sequestration strategies and climate change mitigation efforts.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Geochemistry
Soil Science

Background:

Carbon reservoirs are critical for regulating Earth's climate.
Understanding the stability of nonliving organic matter is essential for accurate carbon cycle modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the potential of nonliving organic matter to form stable carbon reservoirs.
To assess the long-term stability and sequestration capacity of these reservoirs.

Main Methods:

Analysis of soil organic matter composition.
Radiocarbon dating to determine the age of organic carbon.
Incubation experiments to assess decomposition rates.

Main Results:

Nonliving organic matter demonstrated significant resistance to decomposition.
Stable carbon-rich compounds were identified within the organic matter.
Evidence suggests these formations can persist for extended periods.

Conclusions:

Nonliving organic matter can serve as a significant and stable carbon reservoir.
These findings have implications for natural carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
Further research should focus on optimizing conditions for stable organic matter formation.