How Do Rainforest Trees Soak Up Carbon Dioxide and Store It?

What Crafty Clover says in this video

Intro

Hi there, curious minds! I'm Crafty Clover! Let's discover something amazing. How do rainforest trees soak up carbon dioxide and store it?

The Big Idea

Leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air. With sunlight and water, they use it to make sugars. The tree uses that carbon to build wood, leaves, and roots.

Leaves Breathe In

Step one: leaves take in carbon dioxide. Tiny pores on leaves let carbon dioxide, or C-O-2, in from the air. Sunlight powers the next step, like a tiny solar panel.

Making Sugar

Step two: making sugar. Using sunlight and water, the leaf turns carbon dioxide into sugars. This is called photosynthesis.

Building Wood

Step three: building wood. The tree uses sugar to build wood, leaves, and roots, so it grows bigger and bigger. About half of a tree's dry weight is carbon.

A Closer Look

Let's trace the carbon! It starts as carbon dioxide in the air, an invisible gas. Leaves take it in. Trees turn it into strong wood. And roots and soil hold some, too, for a very long time.

Quick Facts

Quick facts! A large forest holds billions of tons of carbon in its trunks and soil. About half of a tree's dry weight is carbon. Cutting or burning a forest releases that carbon back into the air. Use a stick and a scale with a grown-up.

Think Like a Scientist

Now, think like a scientist! With a grown-up, weigh a dry stick on a kitchen scale. Divide the number in half to estimate its carbon. Draw a bar showing the carbon part and the rest of the stick. That is how a tree stores carbon.

Outro

Trees take carbon from the air and keep it safe in wood. Science is amazing! Crafty Clover can be found on Amazon Books, Google Bookstore, and Apple Books. Available for purchase or download! Bye for now!