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Think about the adaptations of tropical plants…big leaves, waterproof leaves, drip tips, leaves with gutters and grooves, tall plants, spiky plants, plants playing dead… Plants in tropical rainforests need to compete with each other for light, so may grow quickly or have large leaves. Insects also love the tropical climate so plants are adapted to protect themselves from bug attack. Too much water can damage leaves but is needed by the roots so leaves are adapted to get rid of water efficiently. Think about other climates and plant adaptations - Mediterranean, desert, arctic?
The challenge is to design a plant adapted to cope with a particular climate. Students research predictions on a future changed climate where they live, and then use their knowledge of adaptations to climate to design a plant to cope with the predicted future conditions. This leads on to a discussion of whether such quick-fix plant designing is either possible or desirable. A final step could explore realistic approaches to tackling climate change.
You will need to decide:
