The long-term and short-term carbon cycles are connected by the fact that some of the carbon contained in C₆H₁₂O₆ (or other organic molecules) in plants is incorporated into sedimentary rocks or oil; it is not immediately reintroduced back into the atmosphere.

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This is because carbon incorporated into sedimentary rocks or oil can remain stored for millions of years, thus linking the short-term carbon cycle (in which carbon is rapidly exchanged between the atmosphere, oceans, and land) to the much slower but longer-term carbon cycle.

The Long-Term and Short-Term Carbon Cycles Are Connected by the Fact