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  • 7/28/2019 Padurea Si Clima

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    Objectives:1. o understand that carbon cycles rom one ormto another and the role that orests play in this

    process.

    2. o understand where and how carbon isstored.

    3. o understand how orests can play a role inofsetting climate change.

    Subjects:1. Science: Ecology & Chemistry2. Reading / Language Arts

    ocus:Establish the basiccarbon cycle

    Why is carbon important? It is the

    basic building block o nearly all

    molecules that make up living

    organisms. It is in sugars, DNA,

    proteins, ats... etc.

    Carbon is in most things around

    us; people, plants, trees, soil, oceans,and even the air we breathe. Tere is only a certain

    amount o carbon in, on, and around the Earth. Te to

    amount o carbon stays the same, it just changes rom

    orm to another. Tis is called a cycle.

    Te Carbon Cycle is the movement o carbon, in its

    many orms, between the biosphere (all o the Earths

    living organisms), atmosphere (the gaseous envelope

    surrounding the Earth), hydrosphere (the Earths supp

    o water), and geosphere (the solid part o the Earth).

    Translated this means:

    The Carbon Cycle is the movement of carbon, in its m

    forms, between:

    1. All living plants and animals2. The gas surrounding the Earth3. Water

    4.Soil and rocks

    Show students the graphic of the Carbon Cycle. Poin

    out that there are really only a few main pieces to the

    carbon cycle:

    1. The Atmosphere2. Ocean exchange3. Fossil fuels emissions4. Terrestrial exchange

    Lesson 9Forests, Carbon & Our Climat

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    V

    O

    C

    A

    B

    U

    L

    A

    R

    Y

    1. Atmosphere: the gaseous envelope surroundingthe Earth.

    2. Biomass: the term biomass has twodenitions: 1) the total mass o living matterwithin a given unit o environmental area; or 2)plant material, vegetation, or agricultural waste

    used as a uel or energy source.3. Carbon Cycle: movement o carbon, in its

    many orms (solid, liquid, and gas), betweenthe biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, andgeosphere.

    4. Carbon Sequestration: the removaland capture o available atmospheric carbonin plants, soils, oceans, or atmosphere. reesin the orests, as well as orest products, areprimary carbon sequestration mechanisms.

    Approximately 50% o wood consists o carbon.Te place where the carbon is sequestered isoen reerred to as a carbon sink.

    5. Decomposition: the breakdown o organicmaterial into smaller molecules which are thenrecirculated or used again by another organism.Tis is natures way o recycling. During the process,carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.

    6. Emission: the act o releasing or putting asubstance into circulation making it available orchemical reaction. Oen the word emission is aterm used to describe pollution such as the gasesgiven of by an automobile or a large orest re;however it can also be used to describe gases thatare given of by a tree or a human and releasedinto the air. Contrast with Sequestration.

    7. Fossil Fuels: uels such as oil, natural gas,and coal. Tese combustible materials areound in the Earths crust and are the remainso prehistoric organisms. Burning ossil uelstypically results in a release o high levels o

    carbon into the atmosphere. Fossil uels are anon-renewable resource.

    8. Global Warming: the theory that Earthssurace temperature is rising as a result o theincreased concentrations o various gases in theatmosphere called greenhouse gases.

    9. Greenhouse Effect: the efect ovarious gases within the Earths atmospherereecting radiant energy back to the Earthssurace similar to the efect which occurs in a

    greenhouse. Greenhouse gases, such as CO2(carbon dioxide), methane, and ozone, insulateand warm the Earths surace. Without theGreenhouse Efect, lie on Earth, as we knowit, would not be possible and there would beno liquid water on the Earth. Te greenhouse

    efect may be enhanced by increased levelso greenhouse gases in the atmosphere thuscausing a greater warming o the Earths suracetemperatures (Global Warming).

    10.Photosynthesis: the process wherebyplants make the carbohydrates glucose, sucrose,and starch rom sunlight, carbon dioxide, andwater. During this process oxygen and waterare released as byproducts. Te carbon rom thecarbon dioxide is made into carbohydrates whichare either used or stored. Te carbohydrates that

    are used are converted to energy through theprocess o respiration; carbon dioxide and waterare ormed as byproducts. See Respiration. Tecarbon that is stored in the plant is said to besequestered. See Carbon Sequestration.

    11. Respiration: the process whereby plantsand animals convert carbohydrates, water, andoxygen into energy, carbon dioxide and waterare released as byproducts o this process. Bothphotosynthesis and respiration occur in plants.Te diference between the carbon uptakethrough photosynthesis and carbon releasethrough respiration is called net carbon uptakeand is the amount o carbon that is sequestered.See Photosynthesis.

    12. Sequestration: the act o orming a stablecompound so it is not available or chemicalreaction. Contrast with Emission. See alsoCarbon Sequestration denition above.

    13. Sink and Source: within the carbon cycle,a sink is any location where carbon is stored.

    A source is any location in the carbon cyclewhere carbon is released or made available orchemical reaction. Some examples o carbonsinks are orests, soil, and the ocean. A sinkmay be temporary. Carbon sinks can turninto carbon sources; or example, ossil uelsare sinks while they are buried in the Earthand wood is a sink. When the ossil uels orwood are burned, carbon is released into theatmosphere and it is now called a carbon source.

    Vocabulary

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    Carbon Sink How does it get there? Carbon Source How is it emitted?

    Plant biomass Photosynthesis takes in

    carbon dioxide from

    atmosphere and incorporatesit into sugars that become

    part of the plant tissue

    Burning Fossil

    fuels

    Driving vehicles,

    coal fired electrical

    plants, etc

    Which ones are both carbon sources and sinks?

    Name_____________Instruct students to work with a partner to identify carbsinks and carbon sources. How could carbon enter a siHow could that carbon be released or emitted from tsink to become a carbon source?

    Carbon Cycle Sinksand Sources

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    Reducingour Carbon

    Footprint...1. We often hear about

    ways to reduce ourcarbon footprints.

    2. What does this mean?Reducing your carbon ootprint means that

    you reduce the amount o carbon dioxide that

    is emitted due to your daily activities such

    as driving your car, buying products that are

    shipped rom overseas, etc.

    3. Why would we want to do this?Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse

    gases play an important role in helping the

    earth trap and retain heat or lie as we know it,

    however, an increase in the amount o carbon

    dioxide in our atmosphere could lead to overallwarming o our climate. Reducing our carbon

    ootprints will reduce the amount o carbon dioxide

    that is emitted into the atmosphere as a result o

    our activities.

    4. How can we reduce ourcarbon footprints?Have your class calculate their carbon

    ootprints using this website:http://www.epa.

    gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html

    Discuss class results. What activities seem to heavily

    impact the carbon ootprints?

    Instruct students to work with a partner to come up

    with a list o ways to reduce their carbon ootprints.

    Plant trees to help store more carbon.

    Use wood products that store carbon rom

    sustainably managed orests.

    Using public transportation, riding a bike or

    walking when possible rather than driving a car.

    Manage orests to grow healthy trees because

    healthy trees store more carbon.

    Recycling materials that can be recycled.

    Manage orests to prevent large orest res that

    release a lot o carbon into the atmosphere.

    Use renewable energy sources and support

    development o new renewable energy sources s

    as biomass energy.

    Decrease use o ossil uels which release high

    levels o carbon into the atmosphere.

    Reduce the amount o trash that the amily

    produces.

    Conserving electricity and heating uels.

    Use energy-e cient appliances and turn the

    of when not in use.

    Use energy-e cient bulbs.

    Set house temperatures lower in the wint

    and higher in the summer.

    Use renewable resources which generally

    release less carbon than nonrenewable

    resources.

    Now show students the graphic: Forestry

    Never Looked So Cool to explore howorests can play a very important role in

    reducing our carbon ootprints. Read the

    excerpt by Patrick Moore, Ph.D. as a class to help

    understand the graphic and to acilitate discussion

    orestrys role in mitigating climate change.

    Patrick Moore, Ph.D.

    Photo used with permission by Greenspirit Strategie

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    Te concepts in The Carbon Cycle: Forestry

    Never Looked So Cool graphic are well

    ummarized in the following excerpt by Patrick

    Moore, Ph.D. in the Winter 2006 edition of

    California Forests.

    rees are the most powerul concentrators o carbon

    on Earth. Trough photosynthesis, they absorb CO2rom the atmosphere and store it in their wood,

    which is nearly 50 percent carbon by weight. Te

    relationship between trees and greenhouse gases

    s simple enough on the surace. rees grow by

    aking carbon dioxide rom the atmosphere and,

    hrough photosynthesis, converting it into sugars.

    Te sugars are then used as energy and material

    o build the cellulose and lignin that are the mainconstituents o wood. When a tree rots or burns the

    carbon contained in the wood is released back to

    he atmosphere. Active orest management, such as

    hinning, removing dead trees, and clearing debris

    rom the orest foor is very eective in reducing the

    number and intensity o orest res. And the wood

    hat is removed can be put to good use or lumber,

    paper and energy.Te impact o orests on the global carbon cycle can

    be boiled down to these key points:

    On the negative side, the most important actor

    inuencing the carbon cycle is deorestation

    which results in a permanent loss o orest cover

    and a large release o CO2 into the atmosphere.

    Deorestationwhich occurs primarily in tropical

    countries where orests are

    permanently cleared and

    converted to agriculture

    and urban settlement

    is responsible or about

    20 percent o global CO2

    emissions.

    On the positive side, planting ast-growing

    trees is the best way to absorb CO2 rom the

    atmosphere. Many countries with temperate

    orest have seen an increase in carbon stored in

    trees in recent years. Tis includes New Zealan

    the United States, Sweden and Canada. Plus,

    using wood sustainably reduces the need or

    non-renewable ossil uels and materials such

    as steel and concrete the very causes o CO2

    emissions in the rst place.

    Te good news is that orests in the United States

    are net carbon sinks, since annual growth exceed

    annual harvest. We are currently experiencing aincrease in orested land as orests are being re-

    established on land previously used or agricult

    Catastrophic wildfres are uncommon in manage

    orests, whereas millions o acres o unmanaged

    orests burn every year due to excessive build-u

    o dead trees and woody debris.

    Every wood substitute, including steel, plastic

    and cement, requires ar more energy to producethan lumber. More energy usually translates into

    more greenhouse gases in the orm o ossil uel

    consumption or cement production.

    One o the best ways to address climate change i

    use more wood, not less. Wood is simply the mos

    abundant, biodegradable and renewable materi

    on the planet.

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    As a class, make a list on the board that outlines orest

    management activities that increase carbon sequestration

    nd reduce carbon emissions. Note that orests in the

    United States sequester 10 percent o all U.S. carbon

    missions. Now have your class come up with ideas

    o increase carbon sequestration by our orests. Te

    ollowing site rom the American Forest Foundation will

    be very helpul in this task:

    http://www.forestfoundation.org/ccs_carbon.html

    CarbonCreationActivity...Materials: Colored Marshmallows, oothpicks

    nstructions: Choose one color o marshmallow to

    epresent each o the ollowing elements: carbon,

    oxygen, hydrogen. Use toothpicks to bond the elements

    ogether properly. A dash indicates a single bond (one

    oothpick) and an equal sign indicates a double bond (two

    oothpicks). Make one carbon dioxide molecule and one

    glucose molecule to show how carbon changes as a result

    o photosynthesis.

    During photosynthesis, water inside the lea o the

    plant is stripped o its hydrogen the two oxygen atoms

    combine and are released into the atmosphere as oxyge

    gas. Carbon dioxide enters through the lea stomata

    and goes through changes so the plant can build a larg

    structure o carbon, hydrogen and oxygen called gluco

    = ood and energy or the plant!)

    O=C=OCarbon Dioxide

    Glucose

    O-H-OWater

    Reinforcement IdeasDownload the Carbon Fingerprints Game

    rom Te Forest Foundation Website

    http://www.calforestfoundation.org/pdf/

    Forests-and-the-Carbon-Cycle.pdf (Page E1)