Carbon present in the atmosphere is absorbed by plants for photosynthesis. These plants are then consumed by animals and carbon gets bioaccumulated into their bodies. These animals and plants eventually die, and upon decomposing, carbon is released back into the atmosphere.

Although scientists have long understood that animals – through ingestion, digestion, breathing and decomposition – are part of the carbon cycle, the work, published Oct. 9 in Nature Ecology and Evolution is the first to suggest the importance of animal biodiversity rather than just animal numbers in the carbon cycle.

Animal mediation of carbon cycling involves multiple mechanisms and arises in two main scenarios: shifts in population abundances, or alterations in their interactions with other species in food webs.

2018年12月7日 · Animals can mediate net carbon sequestration by plants (net primary productivity, NPP) by altering CO 2 uptake into (black arrows) and from (red arrows) ecosystems. Herbivore grazing and tree browsing can alter the spatial distribution of plant biomass. Predators can modify herbivore impacts via predation and predator-avoidance behavior.

2024年3月31日 · We develop a new theoretical framework to account for animal effects on ecosystem carbon cycling. We combine a classic ecosystem compartment modeling approach with a classic carbon model to account for carbon flux and storage among plant, animal, and soil microbial trophic compartments.

2018年12月7日 · Predicting and measuring carbon cycling under such dynamism is an important scientific challenge. We explain how to link analyses of spatial ecosystem functioning, animal movement, and remote sensing of animal habitats with carbon dynamics across landscapes.

2017年10月9日 · Although scientists have long understood that animals – through ingestion, digestion, breathing and decomposition – are part of the carbon cycle, the work, published Oct. 9 in Nature Ecology and Evolution is the first to suggest the importance of animal biodiversity rather than just animal numbers in the carbon cycle.

We study the impacts of animals on biogeochemical cycling in diverse ecosystems, from old fields in New England to Makgadikgadi landscape of northern Botswana to the Arctic tundra. Researcher: Kristy. Large herbivores can have marked effects on carbon and nitrogen cycles, the study of which is termed zoogeochemistry.

Animals can mediate net carbon sequestration by plants (net primary productivity, NPP) by altering CO2 uptake into (black arrows) and from (red arrows) ecosystems. Herbivore grazing and tree browsing can alter the spatial distribution of plant biomass. Predators can modify herbivore impacts via predation and predator-avoidance behavior.

2017年10月9日 · While it is known that the efficiency of carbon capture and biomass production by ecological communities increases with species diversity, the role of vertebrate animals in the carbon cycle...