Plants are a good starting point to understands the carbon cycle on Earth.

Plants have a process called

photosynthesis that pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and combines it with water. Using the
energy from the Sun, plants make sugars like glucose and oxygen molecules.

Animals are the non-photosynthetic creatures of the planet. They are not able to create their own
food.They rely on plants for food, energy, and oxygen. Once consumed, food is broke down and
releasing the energy they contain, ultimately turning sugars, lipids, and other carbon compounds into
single-carbon. The single carbon then exits as carbon dioxide due to the respiration of the cell. In turn,
the carbon dioxide then returns to the atmosphere and can be used in photosynthesis again.

Alternatively, all living organisms will die. The organisms that die without being eaten by other animals
are broken down by other organisms called decomposers. Decomposers break down the dead
organisms and return the carbon in their bodies to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by respiration.
These processes are called decomposition.

In some conditions, decomposition is blocked. The plant and animal material may then be available as
fossil fuel in the future for combustion. For example, coal, oil, and natural gas are some of the common
fossil fuels produced as a product of long-term decomposition of dead matter. These fossil fuels are then
extracted and used in the combustion process. A by-product of combustion will releases carbon dioxide
back into the atmosphere.
Atmospheric nitrogen occurs primarily in an inert form (N2) that few organisms can use. Thus it
must be converted to an organic or fixed form in a process called nitrogen fixation. Most
atmospheric nitrogen is ‘fixed’ through biological processes. First, nitrogen is deposited from the
atmosphere into soils and surface waters, mainly through precipitation. Once in the soils and
surface waters, nitrogen changes to form ammonia (NH4+). This is done by bacteria living in
symbiotic relationships with certain plants, free anaerobic bacteria, and algae. Crops, such as
alfalfa and beans, are often planted to remedy the nitrogen-depletion in soils, and nitrogen-fixing
bacteria employ an enzyme, known as nitrogenase, to split atmospheric nitrogen molecules into
individual atoms for combination into other compounds.

In nitrification, a host of soil bacteria participate in turning ammonia into nitrate. First, nitrifying
bacteria convert ammonia into nitrogen dioxide. Then another type of denitrifying bacterium,
called Nitrobacter, adds a third oxygen atom to create nitrate. The action of these bacteria tends
to deplete soil nitrates, forming free atmospheric nitrogen. These bacteria obtain their energy
from volatile chemicals. By metabolizing nitrogen along with oxygen, they obtain energy to
power their own life processes.

In nitrogen assimilation, plants consume the nitrates made by soil bacteria and use them to make
nucleotides, amino acids, and other vital chemicals for life. Plants take up nitrates through
their roots and use them to make amino acids and nucleic acids from scratch. Animals that
eat the plants are then able to use these amino acids and nucleic acids in their own cells.

A process called “ammonification” is performed by soil bacteria that decompose dead

plants and animals. During the process, these decomposers break down amino acids and nucleic
acids into nitrates and ammonia and release those compounds back into the soil. There, the
ammonia may be taken up again by plants and nitrifying bacteria. Alternatively, the ammonia
may be converted back into atmospheric nitrogen through the process of denitrification.

Denitrification
Nitrogen makes its way back into the atmosphere through a process called denitrification, in
which nitrate (NO3-) is converted back to gaseous nitrogen (N2). Denitrification occurs
primarily in wet soils where the water makes it difficult for microorganisms to get oxygen.
Under these conditions, certain organisms known as denitrifying bacteria will process nitrate to
gain oxygen, leaving free nitrogen gas as a byproduct.