Question

Which of the following best describes ALL the possible places carbon can go once it is in an acacia tree in the savanna?

**Read carefully, there are correct answers and then there is the BEST answer**

Question 5 options:

The carbon will either go back into the atmosphere by cellular respiration or into an herbivore when they eat the leaves of the acacia tree.


The carbon could go into a lion or be used to become part of the acacia tree (biosynthesis)


The carbon would move to the soil where the decomposers would put it back into the atmosphere.


The carbon could go into the atmosphere through cellular respiration, it could become part of the acacia tree (biosynthesis), it could die and move to the soil, or an herbivore could eat the leaves of the acacia tree

Answer 1

Answer: The carbon could go into the atmosphere through cellular respiration, it could become part of the acacia tree (biosynthesis), it could die and move to the soil, or an herbivore could eat the leaves of the acacia tree.

This answer contains all the possible routes for carbon.

Carbon originating from $CO_{2}$ will either return to the atmosphere due to cellular respiration or become part of the tree. The bio-synthesized carbon can either move into an herbivore through the eaten leaves, or into the soil after the tree dies.

Due to the large amounts of carbon used by for growth, trees are extremely important for the removal and fixation of atmospheric $CO_{2}$.