In three to five sentences, describe how the diagram of Earth’s carbon cycle demonstrates the interactions among the biosphere (plants), the lithosphere (ground), the atmosphere (air), and the hydrosphere (water)
The diagram shows how carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Plants and other organisms in the biosphere take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and use it to build organic matter. This organic matter is then broken down and released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide through respiration and decomposition. Carbon can also be stored in the lithosphere as fossil fuels and rocks, and in the hydrosphere as dissolved carbon dioxide in the oceans. The diagram demonstrates how these processes are interconnected and how carbon is constantly cycling through the different spheres.
