Each year a large amount of plant material, cellulose, is deposited on the surface of Planet Earth. What are the natural processes this cellulose undergoes before yielding carbon dioxide, water and other end products?

Cellulose is a molecule, consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Cellulose is the main substance in the walls of plant cells, helping plants to remain stiff and upright. The degradation of cellulose is a biochemical process involving organic and inorganic phases to form carbon dioxide, water etc.

Cellulose in Planet Earth: Organic: Detritus Food Chain

1. This type of food chain starts from organic matter of dead and decaying animals and plant bodies from the grazing food chain. 
2. Dead organic matter or detritus feeding organisms are detrivores or decomposers. The detrivores are eaten by predators. 
3. In an aquatic ecosystem, the grazing food chain is the major conduit for energy flow. 
4. As against this, in a terrestrial ecosystem, a much larger fraction of energy flows through the detritus food chain than the grazing food chain. 

Cellulose in Planet Earth: Inorganic: Leaching, Mineralisation and Weathering. Hence, Cellulose degradation is a prime example where both organic and inorganic processes work simultaneously to maintain the balance in nature.