Natural Cycles

THE CARBON CYCLE

Materials are constantly recycled in an ecosystem

1. an ecosystem is all the organisms living in an area as well as all the non living conditions. e,g soil quality, availibility of water, temperature

2. materials are recycled through the living (biotic) and non living (aboitic)

a. living things are made of elements they take from the environment

b. they turn these elements intro complex compounds (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) that make up living organisms. Elements are passed along food chains when animals eat the plants and each other

c. the elements are recycled - waste producrs and dead organisms are broken down by decomposers (usually microorganisms) and the elemts in them are returned to the soil or air ready to be taken in by new plants and put back into the food chain

Carbon is an important element in the materials that living things are ade from. But there;s only a fixed amount of carbon in the world. This means its constantly recycled

1. Photosynthesis is the only process that can naturally take c02 out of the air

2.  plant and animal respiraton release co2 back into air

3. plants and animals die and decompose or are turned into useful products e.g wood/meat

4. when…