Lesson 3.5
How do plant and soil solutions work to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere?
Lesson Type:
Investigate
Time:
90 min
The main role of this lesson is to investigate real plant and soil solutions and how they work to maximize pulling carbon out of the air and minimize putting carbon into the air by reducing human disturbance.
What We Do:
Investigate real solutions that target photosynthesis, plant-to-soil carbon transfer, and soil respiration and decomposition.
Modify models to explain how one solution works.
Participate in a gallery walk of models and provide feedback.
Summarize how these solutions are similar and different.
Motivate design challenge.
What We Figure Out:
Plant-soil solutions aim to increase photosynthesis to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and increase plant-to-soil transfer to get carbon stored in the soil.
Plant-soil solutions aim to decrease cellular respiration by microbes to keep as much carbon in the ground and reduce what’s given off to the air.
Plant-soil solutions aim to take in more carbon than they give off by minimizing human disturbance.
Lesson in Action
Students in Rebecca's class work in small groups to develop models for a variety of plant and soil climate solutions. Their models trace carbon to make sense of how the solution can take in more carbon than it releases.
