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.
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