Recently, many governments have been promising to begin tree planting as a climate mitigation tool.
A major reason behind this proposal is that, during a process known as photosynthesis, plants take up carbon dioxide (CO2) in order to make sugars for their growth. This reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide as the carbon remains stored in the plant. For us, oxygen is a happy byproduct of these reactions, and the carbon dioxide is “captured.”
Key features of photosynthesis are:
🌲 The thylakoid membrane, in the chloroplast organelle, the location of the photosystems that absorb light
🌲 Light energy that transfers the electrons extracted from H2O to CO2, to produce carbohydrates
🌲 The carbon fixation cycle, where the ATP, NADPH and carbon dioxide are converted to sugars and starch
The illustration allows us to peer into the thylakoid membrane.
🇸🇪 Thank you to Dmitry Shevela, a researcher at Umeå University and, a science illustrator at his own graphic design company ShevelaDesign AB.
The poster was developed in collaboration with Prof. Govindjee Govindjee, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
