Cycles in Ecosystems: Mastery Test During the Carboniferous period, which occurred approximately 360 to 300 million years ago, most of Earth was covered in dense rainforests. These rainforests were sustained by a humid and tropical climate that lasted for most of the Carboniferous period. At the end of the period, Earth's climate became much colder Elnd drier, leading to a wide-scale collapse of the rainforests and a significant loss of vegetation. How might the collapse of the Carboniferous rainforests have affected Earth's carbon cycle? A. The loss of vegetation would have decreased the total amount of carbon in Earth's carbon cycle. B. Over millions of years, the decaying vegetation would have been buried and its carbon turned into fossil fuels. C. The total amount of carbon in the carbon cycle would have increased as the vegetation decayed. D. Over time, the decaying vegetation would have absorbed a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. D. Hext
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The collapse of the Carboniferous rainforests marked a pivotal shift in Earth's carbon cycle, as the vast amounts of vegetation that previously absorbed carbon dioxide began to vanish. As these trees and plants died, the carbon stored in their biomass would eventually decompose and could potentially release CO2 back into the atmosphere, impacting the overall levels of greenhouse gases. As the rainforests receded, the carbon that was locked away in the plant material underwent a fascinating transformation. Over millions of years, much of this decaying vegetation became buried beneath sediment, turning into fossil fuels like coal and oil. This process not only captured carbon underground but also set the stage for the eventual human exploitation of these energy-rich resources, fundamentally altering our own carbon footprint.
