Which statement is an example of how carbon moves through a food chain as part of the carbon cycle?

Which statement is an example of how carbon moves through a food chain as part of the carbon cycle?

1) Producers release carbon dioxide, and consumers take it in.

2) Producers take in carbon dioxide, and consumers release it.

3) Producers take in carbon from the soil, and they release it when they decompose.

4) Producers release carbon into the soil, and consumers take it in from the soil.

Answer: 2) Producers take in carbon dioxide, and consumers release it.

This statement can be considered true since it explains an important part of the carbon transfer of food chains in the process of the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is assimilated back by the producers predominately plants through the process of photosynthesis which converts it to organic matter. These compounds provide structural support to the plant and are used for energy storage. When the consumers (animals) consume these plants, they are broken down and assimilated for utilization in energy and or somatic production. These compounds are used up by consumers through cellular respiration and carbon dioxide is emitted in the atmosphere as gas. This process goes on to other higher levels of consumers, where the carbon dioxide is released through respiration. This shuttling back and forth between producers and consumers of the carbon atoms is a feature of the carbon cycle and shows how organisms of an ecosystem are interlinked.