What process returns carbon to the atmosphere?
Answer: Photosynthesis requires atmospheric carbon, while cellular respiration returns carbon to the atmosphere, and vice versa for oxygen. The global rates of photosynthesis and cellular respiration influence the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Do decomposers return carbon to the soil?
When plants and animals die, they become food for decomposers like bacteria, fungi and earthworms. Decomposers or saprotrophs recycle dead plants and animals into chemical nutrients like carbon and nitrogen that are released back into the soil, air and water.
What role do decomposers play in the carbon cycle?
Decomposers break down the dead organisms and return the carbon in their bodies to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by respiration.
How is carbon dioxide returned to the atmosphere quizlet?
Carbon is returned to the atmosphere through cellular respiration while oxygen uses cellular respiration to release water into the atmosphere.
What do decomposers do?
Decomposers play a critical role in the flow of energy through an ecosystem. They break apart dead organisms into simpler inorganic materials, making nutrients available to primary producers.
Does decomposition release carbon?
When organisms die, they are decomposed by bacteria. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere or water during the decomposition process.
Does decomposition release carbon dioxide?
What role do decomposers play in the carbon cycle quizlet?
When producers and consumers die, decomposers break down their remains and return carbon compounds to the soil. Some decomposers also release carbon dioxide as a waste product.
How do living organisms return carbon to the atmosphere in the carbon cycle quizlet?
Organisms return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by respiration.
Why are decomposers important in the carbon and nitrogen cycles?
Decomposers are microorganisms that break down waste made by other organisms. They play an essential role in the ecosystems because they break down dead, rotting material to make nutrients available for other organisms.
What are decomposers short answer?
Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms; they carry out decomposition, a process possible by only certain kingdoms, such as fungi.
Do decomposers release carbon dioxide?