All of these reservoirs are very closely linked. The carbon cycle is the term used to describe the ways in which carbon moves between them, and the proportion of carbon stored in each component. See the figure below for an indication of how much carbon is stored in each reservoir, and for some of the processes by which the carbon moves. By measuring the storage and transport of carbon, reservoirs can be classified as either carbon sinks(where more carbon is absorbed than released, so carbon is accumulated and stored) or carbon sources (where more carbon is emitted than stored). This is an important distinction that is often used as a measure of human impact on the natural environment.
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