Science·Rainforests·conceptual
Rainforests & Global Climate
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
Suggested ages 9–11
Evidence of understanding
- 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
Assessment prompt
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?
Standards alignment
No external standards are linked to this topic.