IMPORTANCE OF CARBON IN LIVING THINGS: 8 REASONS - BIOLOGY - 2025

The importance of carbon in living beings lies in the fact that it is the chemical element on which the existence of life is based. Its ability to form polymers makes it an ideal element to join into molecules that generate life.

Carbon is a key chemical element for life and natural processes that take place on earth. It is the sixth most abundant element in the universe, participating in astronomical formations and reactions.

8 allotropes of carbon

Carbon is abundant on Earth and its properties allow it to bond with other elements such as oxygen and hydrogen, forming molecular compounds of great importance.

Carbon is a light element, and its presence in living beings is essential, since it is used and manipulated by enzymes in organic systems.

The human body is made up of 18% carbon, and it has been estimated that all organic life on earth is based on the presence of carbon. Some theories speculate that if life existed in another part of the Universe, it would also have a large presence of carbon in its composition.

Carbon is the fundamental element for the formation of components such as proteins and carbohydrates, as well as in the physiological functioning of the living body.

Despite being a natural element, carbon is also present in chemical reactions and interventions that man has carried out, providing new benefits.

Why is carbon important in living things?

chemical composition of living being

Since living beings are the result of a set of chemical reactions at a certain time and, as mentioned, carbon plays a fundamental role in these reactions, it would be impossible to conceive of life without the presence of this element.

The versatility of carbon has allowed it to be present in the cellular and micro-organic processes that give rise to the essential components of the body: fats, proteins, lipids that help the formation of neurological systems and nucleic acids that store the DNA through DNA. genetic code of each individual.

In the same way, it is present in all those elements that living beings consume to obtain energy and guarantee their life.

Atmospheric importance

Carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, is a gas that is naturally present at the atmospheric level.

Carbon dioxide prevents the internal temperature of the earth from escaping, and its constant presence allows its absorption by other beings to carry out their feeding cycles.

It is a key component in maintaining the diverse levels of life found on the planet. However, at unnatural levels caused by excessive emission by man, it can end up containing too much temperature, generating a greenhouse effect. Even so, it would be decisive for the preservation of life under these new conditions.

Carbon transfer between living things

The nutritional order of ecosystems is closely related to the carbon transfer that occurs between living beings that participate in these interactions.

Animals, for example, often obtain carbon from primary producers and transfer it to all those higher up the chain.

In the end, the carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, where it goes on to participate in some other organic process.

Cellular respiration

Carbon, along with hydrogen and oxygen, contributes to the process of releasing energy through glucose within the body, producing adenosine triphosphate, considered the source of energy at the cellular level.

Carbon facilitates the process of glucose oxidation and energy release, converting itself into carbon dioxide and being expelled from the body.

Photosynthesis

Another cellular phenomenon of universal importance is that of which only plants are capable: photosynthesis; the integration of the energy absorbed directly from the Sun with the carbon they absorb from the atmospheric environment.

The result of this process is the nourishment of the plants and the prolongation of their life cycle. Photosynthesis not only guarantees plant life, but also contributes to keeping thermal and atmospheric levels under certain control, as well as providing food for other living beings.

Carbon is key in photosynthesis, as well as in the natural cycle around living things.

Animal respiration

Although animals cannot obtain direct energy from the Sun for their food, almost all the foods they can consume have a high presence of carbon in their composition.

This consumption of carbon-based food generates a process in animals that results in the production of energy for life. The supply of carbon in animals through food allows the continuous production of cells in these beings.

At the end of the process, animals can release carbon as waste, in the form of carbon dioxide, which is then absorbed by plants to carry out their own processes.

Natural decomposition

Living things act as large stores of carbon during their life; the atoms are always working on the continuous regeneration of the most basic components of the body.

Once the being dies, the carbon begins a new process to be returned to the environment and reused.

There are some small organisms called disintegrators or decomposers, which are found both on land and in water, and which are responsible for consuming the remains of the lifeless body and storing carbon atoms and then releasing them into the environment.

Ocean regulator

Carbon is also present in the great oceanic bodies of the planet, generally in the form of bicarbonate ions; result of the dissolution of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.

Carbon undergoes a reaction that makes it go from a gaseous state to a liquid state and then converts into bicarbonate ions.

In the oceans, bicarbonate ions function as pH regulators, necessary for the creation of ideal chemical conditions that contribute to the formation of marine life of various sizes, accommodating the food chains of ocean species.

Carbon can be released from the ocean into the atmosphere through the ocean surface; however these amounts are very small.

References

1. Brown, S. (2002). Measuring, monitoring, and verification of carbon benefits for forest −based projects. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society, 1669-1683.
2. Pappas, S. (August 9, 2014). Facts about Carbon. Retrieved from Live Science: livescience.com
3. Samsa, F. (nd). Why Is Carbon Important to Living Organisms? Retrieved from Hunker: hunker.com
4. Singer, G. (nd). What Does Carbon Do for Human Bodies? Obtained from HealthyLiving: healthyliving.azcentral.com
5. Wilfred M. Post, WR, Zinke, PJ, & Stangenberger, AG (1982). Soil carbon pools and world life zones. Nature, 156-159.