Question

All healthy, highly productive ecosystems provide which of these essential ecosystem services that involve gases in the atmosphere?
A. Increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere by the action of plants and animals.
B. Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon in the tissues of organisms.
C. Removing water vapor from the atmosphere and using it to support plant growth.
D. Removing methane from the atmosphere and storing its carbon and hydrogen in the tissues of organisms.

Answer 1

Answer:

All healthy and highly productive ecosystems provide the essential ecosystem services that consist in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon in the tissues of organisms (option B).

Explanation:

The carbon cycle involves the path that this element has between the biosphere and the atmosphere.

As part of the carbon cycle, the carbon dioxide (CO₂) produced by the combustion of fossil fuels or organic matter and by the elimination of animals passes into the atmosphere, and must be removed.

Photosynthesis removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and converts it into organic compounds that are stored in plants. Plants, vegetables and fruits consumed by animals contain carbon that is incorporated into other living beings.

In a healthy and efficient ecosystem, CO₂ is removed from the atmosphere to become part of living beings, as organic matter.

The other options describe processes that are not related to the actual question formulation:

    A. Atmospheric CO2 does not increase due to the action of plants.

    C. Water vapor is not removed to contribute to plant growth, but rather the plants absorb water from the soil.

    D. Methane is not removed from the atmosphere or incorporated into living systems.