The carbon cycle, as a biological process, encompasses the assimilation, transformation, and release of carbon by living organisms within the broader biogeochemical carbon flux. Primary producers fix inorganic carbon, predominantly as CO₂, into organic molecules via photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, forming the base of food webs. Heterotrophs transfer and oxidize this organic carbon through respiration, returning CO₂ to the environment. Decomposers mineralize dead biomass and organic detritus, generating CO₂ and, under anoxic conditions, methane. Biological mediation of carbon storage occurs in biomass, soils, sediments, and dissolved organic pools, tightly coupling the carbon cycle to energy flow, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem metabolism across terrestrial and aquatic systems.
Lakes play an important role in capturing and storing carbon, which accumulates in their sediments. But the amounts they can absorb have varied considerably over time. Jean-François Lapierre, a professor in the Department ...
Environment
Aug 26, 2026
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From Texas to Maine, coastal wetlands and marshes are releasing more than 1.45 billion pounds (660,000 metric tons) of carbon into the ocean each year, according to new research supported by NASA. Coastal marshes, like forests ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 25, 2026
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A new study published in Communications Earth & Environment, with contributions from researchers at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), shows that higher seawater temperatures could significantly reduce ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 20, 2026
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Methane-munching microbes in soil might be more important than previously thought, a new study finds. Soil is an important carbon sink, and scientists are still learning much about the diversity of its microbial communities. ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 20, 2026
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The processes that capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it on the seabed are crucial for climate balance. However, assessing these mechanisms is often complicated because it requires measurements ranging from the ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 3, 2026
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Tropical forests draw down and store large quantities of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest in South America, for example, stores approximately 123 billion tons of carbon—more than is stored in any other terrestrial ...
Environment
Jul 10, 2026
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Forests and land play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide emissions, but current models and forecasts don't incorporate a surprising ecological discovery: Despite more available carbon, climate change and warmer ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 25, 2026
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Vegetarians need not worry yet—plants will be on Earth for a long time to come. But not forever. The sun will ultimately determine the long-term existence of life on Earth. Its total energy output, called luminosity, has ...
Arctic fjords are among the most efficient natural systems for absorbing and storing carbon long term. However, as the Arctic is warming about four times faster than the global average, fjord ecosystems are changing rapidly. ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2026
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11
The Arctic and northern high latitudes are warming about 2–4 times faster than the global average, allowing ancient permafrost to thaw and release stored carbon. These permafrost soils currently store roughly one-third of ...
