From: Jeannie Leggett <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 1995 09:38:28 -0500

At 10:30 PM 3/24/95 -0800, Charles Benbrook wrote:
>I have a basic question.  Is the amount of carbon in the
>world fixed?  Do humans simple move it around by what they do with
>biomass and soils?  How is carbon different from nitrogen?

I suggest that you read a basic book on soil microbiology, such as
"Introduction to Soil Microbiology" by Martin Alexander.  It has a chapter
on the carbon cycle and a chapter on the nitrogen cycle, as well as an
overview of the soil environment. It is basic enough to understand with
little or no biology background.  Good Luck.

Jeannie Leggett
246 Agricultural Engineering Building
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-7710
FAX (814)863-1031