Plants add carbon to the atmosphere during respiration, and remove carbon through photosynthesis. These are two sides of the same coin – in photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and water, along with energy from the sun, to create glucose. In respiration, plants use oxygen to break down glucose for energy, releasing a byproduct of water and carbon dioxide.
Taken together, these processes form the carbon cycle, and it’s this cycle that’s been thrown into so much danger by human-driven climate change.