Carbon Cycle

The carbon cycle is a process in which carbon is cycled through the environment. Carbon dioxide is incorporated into living tissues through the process of photosynthesis, and then returned to the atmosphere through the process of respiration, the burning of fossil fuels, and through dead or decaying organisms. For example, in Rocky Mountain National Park, carbon is incorporated into the photosynthesis process of a plant such as the Chokecherry (Padus virginiana ssp. melanocarpa). During this process of photosynthesis oxygen is produced and released into the environment, then an animal such as the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis), will breath in that oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, therefore releasing it back into the atmosphere. Also, after these animals and plants die and decompose in the soil, more carbon will be released and returned back to the atmosphere.