Carbon is essential for all life and circulates between the atmosphere, organisms, oceans, and Earth's crust through the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle involves carbon dioxide being taken up by plants through photosynthesis and used to fuel their growth, then released back into the air by animals and decomposers or stored long-term in fossil fuels and ocean sinks. Carbon is constantly circulating between the air, living things, and Earth's surface over many thousands of years through natural processes that sustain life.