Assess graduate students' foundational understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle by testing knowledge of key reservoirs (vegetation, soils, atmosphere, biomass), principal processes and fluxes (photosynthesis, autotrophic/heterotrophic respiration, decomposition, fire/combustion, litterfall, soil organic matter dynamics), typical timescales, basic stock–flux relationships, and primary human perturbations (land‑use change, deforestation, fertilization); focus on definitions, mechanisms, and simple conceptual explanations for easy-level recall and comprehension.