Question

in a forest ecosystem, a catastrophic storm kills off decomposers (bacteria and fungi). construct an argument to explain the most critical long - term failure that would prevent the growth of new plants

a. the flow of energy from consumers to producers will cease, causing a lack of atp for plant cellular respiration.

b. the atmospheric ph will increase significantly, creating an environment bad to the ability for plant roots to absorb water effectively

c. the carbon cycle will halt because decomposers are the only source of atmospheric co₂ necessary for photosynthesis.

d. the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles will fail to return essential nutrients to the soil, leading to a severe nutrient deficiency that prevents the growth of new primary producers

Explanation:

Answer:

C. The carbon cycle will halt because decomposers fix the usable location of atmospheric CO₂ necessary for photosynthesis.