Grassland Biodiversity and Earth’s Carbon Cycle | The Future of Nature

The more biodiverse an ecosystem is, the better the carbon sequestration. In this case study from Uganda, the healthy interconnectedness of grasses, grazers, and decomposers is explained as a critical factor in Earth’s global carbon cycle.

Students reinforce their understanding of a healthy food web and its role in the carbon cycle. They trace the path of carbon from the atmosphere to deep underground storage in the soil, as well as examine the roles of each level of the trophic web in the movement of that carbon.

Through engagement activities, students collaborate in discussions about local and global impacts of biodiversity as well as undertake an experiment to measure the carbon storage within the soil around them.

About the Author
Kathy Biernat is an award-winning educator with over 20 years of teaching middle school students, believing “hands on=minds on.” She has a BS from Marquette and an MS from University of North Texas.  While she left full time teaching to pursue curriculum design work, she couldn’t stay away from the classroom entirely and can still be found running science labs at Saint Alphonsus in Greendale, WI.