question_answer 13)

Outline salient features of carbon cycling in an ecosystem. 

Answer:

                Carbon constitutes 49 per cent of dry weight of organisms and is next only to water. 71 per cent carbon is found amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels also represent a reservoir of carbon. Carbon cycling occurs through atmosphere, ocean and through living and dead organisms  of carbon is fixed in the biosphere through photosynthesis annually. A considerable amount of carbon returns to the atmosphere as  through respiratory activities of the producers and consumers. Decomposers also contribute substantially to  pool by their processing of waste materials and dead organic matters of land or oceans. Some amount of fixed carbon is lost to sediments and removed from circulation. Burning of wood, forest fire and combustion of organic matter, fossil fuels, volcanic activity are additional source for releasing  in the atmosphere.                 Human activities have significantly influenced the carbon cycle. Rapid deforestation and massive burning of fossil fuel for energy and transport have significantly increased the rate of release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.