Nitrogen and carbon cycles are both very important in there own ways for suitability of life to all living things. Nitrogen produces proteins that all living things require. Carbon allows for the requirements of mammals to survive such as; the ability to respire, absorb nutrients, and decompose waste. The following is an explanation of the carbon and nitrogen cycles, and how they are both important in sustaining life on earth. .
All living organisms are based on the carbon atom. The attributes of the carbon atom make possible the survival of all organic compounds essential for life on earth. Carbon atoms repeatedly move through living organisms, oceans, the atmosphere, and earth's crust. This movement is known as the carbon cycle. In the carbon cycle, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it, combined with water they get from the soil, to make the substances they need for growth. Then by process of photosynthesis the carbon atoms from carbon dioxide are turned into sugars. Mammals then eat the plants and use the carbon to build their own tissues. Other mammals then can eat those mammals and then use the carbon for their own needs. All of returning carbon dioxide back into the air through respiration. The carbon is also returned to the soil when the mammal dies and the carbon is returned during decomposition. The carbon atoms in soil may then be used in a new plant or small microorganisms. The paths taken by carbon atoms through this cycle are extremely complex, and may take millions of years to completely circulate. .
Almost all of the nitrogen found in ecosystems originally came from the atmosphere. About 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen. In most ecosystems nitrogen is primarily stored in living and dead organic matter. All living things require nitrogen to make proteins. For nitrogen to be useful, the nitrogen must first be converted into a nitrate. Only in the nitrate form can plants absorb the nitrogen they require.
