Rainforests & Global Climate
Science · Rainforests · conceptual
Understand the connection between rainforests and global climate — rainforests absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, store enormous amounts of carbon in their biomass, and generate rainfall through transpiration; when forests are burned or cleared, stored carbon is released as CO₂, accelerating climate change and disrupting regional rainfall patterns
What mastery looks like
- Explain that rainforests absorb CO₂ and store carbon in their trees, acting as a carbon sink
- Describe how deforestation releases stored carbon back into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change
- Explain that transpiration from rainforest trees generates rainfall, and losing trees disrupts rain patterns
Check your understanding
Can Rainforests & Global Climate explain how rainforests help fight climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide — and how cutting them down makes climate change worse by releasing all that stored carbon?
Prerequisites
Required first
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