Teaching Authentic Soil & Plant Science in Middle School Classrooms with a Biochar Case Study

We designed two NGSS-aligned middle school classroom experiments to investigate the effects of biochar on plant growth and soil respiration. Biochar is a carbon-rich material, produced by heating organic matter under limited oxygen, that is added to soils to improve fertility, to promote plant growth, and as one possible strategy to help mitigate climate change. The experiments offer an ideal case study for students learning fundamentals of soil and plant interactions. Soils and biochar are accessible, are connected to global issues such as agriculture and climate change, and are the focus of ongoing research in soil science. These classroom experiments promote authentic science because students design replicated experiments, collect and analyze data, discuss variability in the data, and interpret their results in the context of recent research.

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Can we improve soil properties and plant biomass using rock powder as soil amendment?

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4512 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lena Reifschneider ◽

Vinzenz Franz Eichinger ◽

Evelin Pihlap ◽

Noelia Garcia-Franco ◽

Anna Kühnel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Large Scale ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

New Mineral ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Rock Powder ◽

Overburden Material ◽

Neutral Soil ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

<p>The application of rock powder is an option to improve soil fertility while valorising the overburden material produced by industries. The &#8220;enhanced weathering&#8221; of silicate rock has also gained recent interest in the scientific community for its potential to mitigate climate change. However, the effect of rock powder on the soil physical properties remains unclear, especially under climate change (e.g., increasing drought events). Prior to any large scale application of rock powder, it is crucial to disentangle the potential effects of rock powder application on its environment. In a mesocosm experiment, we explored the effect of three rock powders on plant biomass, soil aggregation and organic carbon (OC) allocation within aggregates, in two soils with clayey and sandy textures, under regular watering or severe drought conditions. We demonstrate that the rock powder was the third factor after drought and soil texture significantly affecting the plant growth, resulting in a significant plant biomass decrease ranging from - 13 % to - 42 % compared with the control. We mainly attribute this effect to the increase of the already neutral soil pH, along with the release of excessive heavy metal amounts at a toxic range for the plant. Yet, we found that adding rock powder to the soil resulted in an increase of the relative amount of microaggregates in the soil by up to + 70 %, along with a re-distribution of OC within the fine fractions of the soil (up to + 32 % of OC in < 250 &#181;m fractions). The new mineral-mineral and organo-mineral interactions promoted by the rock powder addition could potentially favour OC persistence in soil on the long term. With our results, we insist on the potential risks for plant growth associated to the application of rock powder when not handled properly. In addition to the current enthusiasm around the capacity of rock powder to enhance carbon sequestration in the inorganic form, we also encourage scientists to focus their research on its effect on soil structure properties and OC storage.</p>

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Vermiculite-Lizardite Industrial Wastes Promote Plant Growth in a Peat Soil Affected by a Cu/Ni Smelter: a Case Study at the Kola Peninsula, Russia

Journal of soil science and plant nutrition ◽

10.1007/s42729-020-00188-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 1013-1018

Author(s):

Ekaterina Tarasova ◽

Svetlana Drogobuzhskaya ◽

Felipe Tapia-Pizarro ◽

Dmitry V. Morev ◽

Vasyl A. Brykov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Kola Peninsula ◽

Peat Soil ◽

Industrial Wastes ◽

Promote Plant Growth

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Carbon Emissions of Hotels: The Case of the Sri Lankan Hotel Industry

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings9110227 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 227 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Udara Willhelm Abeydeera ◽

Karunasena

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Global Climate ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Study Approach ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

The need to mitigate climate change has become a major global concern, and greenhouse gas emissions are a major cause of global climate change. Therefore, the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions has been well recognized by global researchers, policymakers and academics. Carbon emissions of hotel operations have seized the attention of global researchers. However, carbon emissions of the hotels in developing countries remain to be a less explored domain. Therefore, carbon emissions of Sri Lankan hotels were explored using a case study approach. Five hotels in the Colombo suburb were explored, which revealed that each hotel released more than 7000 tons of carbon annually. Results further indicated the use of purchased electricity as the dominant source of carbon emissions. Emissions caused by transport activities were not included in the calculations due to the unavailability of data. Recommendations were made to overcome the issues identified during data collection as well as to reduce the carbon emissions from hotel operations. Wider adoption of the methodology used in this research will benefit the hotels to keep track of the carbon emissions using a systematic approach.

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Definition of Forest for REDD+: an Unresolved Issue

Annals of Tropical Research ◽

10.32945/atr3312a.2011 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 19-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Medrilzam Medrilzam ◽

Paul Dargusch

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Negative Impact ◽

National Level ◽

Climate Change Impacts ◽

Policy Framework ◽

Global Context ◽

Forest Definition ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

Definition Of

Debate over arrangements for REDD+ in a post-Kyoto climate policy framework has been continuing in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations; however, no review of the applicability of the existing forest definition to future REDD+ implementation has been undertaken. This paper highlights the need to review the definition of forest, and examines proposals to improve existing definitions. The impacts of the current forestry definition are discussed with reference to Indonesia as a case study. It is concluded that careless definition of selected forest-related terms has had a negative impact on Indonesia’s involvement in the implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) afforestation and reforestation (A/R) projects. In the global context, this paper concludes that there should be clear definitions for definition of forest that are flexible enough to accommodate the various interests of UNFCCC parties. At the national level, each country should specify their forest definition carefully, taking into consideration the guidance provided at the global level and its own forest characteristics and management. Failing to do so can limit the involvement of these nations in future REDD+ schemes and reduce their capacity to mitigate climate change impacts.

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A Socioscientific Issue Approach to Understanding Middle School Students' Beliefs and Intentions Toward Climate Change

Socioscientific Issues-Based Instruction for Scientific Literacy Development - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-4558-4.ch004 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 92-131

Author(s):

Wardell A. Powell

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Power Plants ◽

Waste Treatment ◽

Chief Executive ◽

Round Table ◽

Round Table Discussion ◽

School Students ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

This chapter is a demonstration of how to use socioscientific issues to impact middle school students' beliefs and intentions towards climate change. Fifty-one middle school students from a summer enrichment program in the Northeastern United States participated in this study. The duration of this curricular unit took place over six consecutive one-hour class periods. The researcher utilized quantitative and qualitative procedures to analyze the students' abilities to think critically and to argue persuasively about their beliefs and intentions about climate change. The results indicate that the students concluded that human actions are a significant factor in climate change. The students' intentions to act, as well as their desire to encourage others to take actions necessary to mitigate climate change, were compelling. Additionally, the knowledge the students gained from the interventions used enhanced their abilities to write persuasively to the chief executive officers from power plants and waste treatment facilities to a round table discussion on ways to mitigate climate change.

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Low-Impact Development Practices to Mitigate Climate Change Effects on Urban Stormwater Runoff: Case Study of New York City

Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering ◽

10.1061/(asce)ir.1943-4774.0000770 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 141 (1) ◽

pp. 04014043 ◽

Cited By ~ 71

Author(s):

Zahra Zahmatkesh ◽

Steven J. Burian ◽

Mohammad Karamouz ◽

Hassan Tavakol-Davani ◽

Erfan Goharian

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New York ◽

New York City ◽

York City ◽

Low Impact Development ◽

Stormwater Runoff ◽

Climate Change Effects ◽

Urban Stormwater Runoff ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

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The KSF of LED Business Development in Taiwan with E Company as Case Study

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.260-261.372 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 260-261 ◽

pp. 372-378

Author(s):

Ming Lang Wang ◽

Han Kun Chen

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Market ◽

Business Development ◽

Market Growth ◽

Carbon Reduction ◽

Market Expansion ◽

The World ◽

Major Shift ◽

Mitigate Climate Change

The world today actively engages in energy conservation and carbon reduction efforts to mitigate climate change ever since it has caused a major shift in the ecological system. This has thus led to the growth of LED industry. In anticipation of the market growth, worldwide LED manufacturers had their market expansion planned. Our study focused on how the LED industry in Taiwan remained competitive and its discovery of KSF in the global market.

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