ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Figure
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Source of Figure
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Figure 8
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http://www.canadiangeographic.ca |
The Carbon Cycle:
Figure 8:
Figure 8 shows the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is a
naturally occurring gas. Its percentage composition in the environment is
fairly maintained by combustion, decomposition, respiration and photosynthesis.
Combustion, decomposition and respiration produce carbon
dioxide and utilize atmospheric oxygen according to the following equations;
Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere by the process
of photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, plants, in the presence of light,
manufacture their glucose, using atmospheric carbon dioxide and water.
This natural process of photosynthesis by plants plays a
vital role in maintaining this delicate balance of Carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
Photosynthesis:
Green plants contain a pigment called chlorophyll. This
chlorophyll in the presence of light (usually from the sun) and water helps the
plant manufacture its own food, hence its name.
This is a renewable process and it helps balancing the amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by using it to form glucose and release
Oxygen as a by-product.
