Carbon Cycle in the Tropical Rainforest
The basis of the carbon cycle of the tropical rainforest lies in its large variety of plants, specifically, plants during photosynthesis absorb carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere. This carbon is used in the process known as photosynthesis, in the case of the tropical rainforest; plants are a major component of the biome. When a plant respires, dies, or burns the carbon within the plants is released back into the environment. The Carbon gets released into the ground where it is stored as sediments underneath river, ocean and lake beds. The sediment eventually becomes fossil fules over millions of years if humans harvest the rainforest ground for it. This carbon also can be absorbed by the bodies of animals when they eat the remains of the plant, the carbon from this process is transferred from the producers (i.e: the strangler fig) to primary consumers such as the monkey, and then to secondary consumers such as iguanas, then on to tertiary consumers such as the jaguar. The carbon from this process is released by animal respiration and when the tertiary predator dies. Once the carbon is released, the cycle repeats and carbon in the air is absorbed by photosynthesizing plant life.