Cycles of Matter
Energy flows one way, matter is recycled within and between ecosystems.
In the Carbon cycle in the Tropical rainforest first starts with the various plants in the rainforest. The plants take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and perform photosynthesis. The plants in this biome are very important in the carbon cycle. When the plant dies or burns, the Carbon dioxide is released back into the environment. The Carbon gets put into the ground where it is kept as sediment underneath river, ocean and lake beds. The sediment eventually becomes fossil fuels over millions of years. 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 to primary consumers such as the lemurs, and then to secondary consumers such as the golden lion, then on to tertiary consumers such as the jaguar. The carbon from this stage is put out by animal respiration and when the tertiary consumers dies. Once the carbon is released, the cycle repeats and carbon in the air is absorbed by photosynthesizing plant life.