What is the terrestrial carbon cycle?
Carbon cycles between the land and the atmosphere. It is solid when on land and a gas in the atmosphere. When carbon is in solid form, such as in plants, roots, soil, and rock it is called organic carbon. When certain forms of organic carbon, such as those in soil, encounter the air, the carbon is oxidized and forms a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). Plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. The plants convert the carbon (C) into stems, stalks, leaves, and roots while the oxygen (O2) is released back to the atmosphere. Over time, some of the carbon moves from the roots into the soil where it provides vital nutrients to the growing plant. Because plants are carbon, decaying plants add carbon to the soil and make a good mulch or soil amendment for this reason. Even though decaying organic matter releases CO2 to the atmosphere, it does so much more slowly when left undisturbed on or in the soil. Researchers say carbon can remain stored in undisturbed soils for thousands
