Habitat destruction leads to less overall photosynthesis and cellular respiration, so what is happening to carbon?

Organic form = carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins.
Inorganic form = carbon dioxide

Question

Habitat destruction leads to less overall photosynthesis and cellular respiration, so what is  happening to carbon?

Organic form = carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins.
Inorganic form = carbon dioxide

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To tackle the question, start by parsing what habitat destruction does to photosynthesis and respiration, since these processes govern carbon flow. When habitat is destroyed, primary production and the overall photosynthetic capacity typically decline, leading to less carbon being fixed into organic forms like carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.

Option 1: 'Carbon is increasingly consumed by primary producers in those affected biomes..' This suggests more carbon is being taken up into organic matter by producers. In reality, the opposite occurs when habitat destruction reduces photosynthesis, so this claim misstates the direction of carbon flow and is misleading.

Option 2: 'Carbon is increasing in availability to ecosystems in its organic forms.' If photosynthesis declines, organic carbon formation also declines, not increases. This option confuses availability with production; the organic pool would not rise under diminished primary production.

Option 3: 'Carbon is dissolving into oceans and increasing pH.' While atmospheric CO2 can influence ocean chemistry, the general trend from heightened CO2 is a decrease in ocean pH (acidification), not an increase in pH. Therefore this statement contains the opposite effect and is incorrect in describing the typical consequence.

Option 4: 'Carbon is decreasing in its organic forms and increasing in its inorganic form.' This matches the expected consequence: less carbon fixation into organic molecules due to reduced photosynthesis, with more carbon remaining in inorganic reservoirs such as CO2 in the atmosphere and dissolved inorganic carbon in water. The inorganic pool grows while the organic pool shrinks.

In summary, the reasoning for each option hinges on how habitat destruction shifts the balance between organic carbon (biomass) formation via photosynthesis and inorganic carbon (CO2) in the environment, with the most consistent description being a shift from organic to inorganic carbon pools.

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Habitat destruction leads to less overall photosynthesis and cellular respiration, so what is happening to carbon? Organic form = carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins. Inorganic form = carbon dioxide

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