Animals mainly add carbon dioxide (CO₂) to the atmosphere , so they tend to increase the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere over short timescales.

What animals do to carbon

  • Animals eat plants (or other animals that ate plants), taking in carbon that was originally pulled from the air by photosynthesis.
  • They then respire , breaking down that carbon‑rich food to release energy and giving off CO₂ and water as waste products, which goes back into the air.
  • When animals die or produce waste, decomposers (like bacteria and fungi) break down their bodies and manure, also releasing CO₂ (and sometimes methane) into the atmosphere.

Net effect on the atmosphere

  • In a balanced natural system, plants absorb roughly as much CO₂ as animals (and decomposers) release, so the total carbon in the atmosphere stays roughly stable over long periods.
  • However, when humans raise large numbers of livestock or clear forests for grazing, the system tips:
    • More animals mean more respiration and more manure , so more CO₂ (and other greenhouse gases) enter the air.
* Fewer trees mean **less CO₂ is removed** , so the **net amount of carbon in the atmosphere increases**.

In short: animals recycle carbon through respiration and decomposition, but when their populations (especially farm animals) grow and forests shrink, they help raise the total carbon in Earth’s atmosphere and contribute to climate change.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.