agriculture: The growth of plants, animals or fungi for human needs, including food, fuel, chemicals and medicine.
atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon.
average: (in science) A term for the arithmetic mean, which is the sum of a group of numbers that is then divided by the size of the group.
bacteria: (singular: bacterium) Single-celled organisms. These dwell nearly everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the sea to inside other living organisms (such as plants and animals). Bacteria are one of the three domains of life on Earth.
canopy: (in botany) The top layer of a tree — or forest — where the tallest branches overlap.
carbon: A chemical element that is the physical basis of all life on Earth. It is an important part of coal, limestone and petroleum. (in climate studies) The term carbon sometimes will be used almost interchangeably with carbon dioxide to connote the potential impacts that some action, product, policy or process may have on long-term atmospheric warming.
carbon dioxide: (or CO2) A colorless, odorless gas produced by all animals when the oxygen they inhale reacts with the carbon-rich foods that they’ve eaten. Carbon dioxide also is released when organic matter burns (including fossil fuels like oil or gas). Carbon dioxide acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen during photosynthesis, the process they use to make their own food.
climate: The weather conditions that typically exist in one area, in general, or over a long period.
climate change: Long-term, significant change in the climate of Earth. It can happen naturally or in response to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests.
ecologist: A scientist who works in a branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
forest: An area of land covered…
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