Plant Microclimate

• databot

• IOS/Android Smart Device

Investigations

Life Science

Overview

Background

What You Will Need/Prep

• Test your databot™ connection.

• You will be prompted to select
  and connect to databot™ each
  time you launch an experiment.

• If there are two or more
  databot™'s listed, the one
  closest to your device will be
  highlighted in blue.

Plant Microclimate

Plants play a vital role in maintaining environmental
balance by cycling water through their systems. They
absorb water through their roots and release it into
the atmosphere as water vapor through the process
of transpiration. This lesson uses the databot’s
humidity sensor to investigate how plants create
localized microclimates by affecting humidity levels
in their immediate surroundings.

• Install Vizeey™ on your
  Smart device.

• Study the background
  information and terms and
  prepare to explore!

Grades: Middle School

Time: 45 Minutes

Subject: Life Science

Topics: Humidity, Plant Microclimate

Water is essential for all living organisms, and plants
are a crucial part of Earth's water cycle. Here's how
the process works:

• Absorption: Roots take up water from the soil.
  This water carries nutrients that plants need for
  growth.

• Transportation: Water travels through the plant’s
  vascular system, known as xylem, to reach the
  leaves. This movement is driven by capillary
  action and transpiration pull.

• Transpiration: Water is released from stomata,
  tiny openings mostly found on the underside of
  leaves. This process cools the plant and creates
  a flow of water and nutrients from roots to
  leaves.

Trees, as large plants, have an especially significant
role in the global water cycle. They release vast
amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere daily,
contributing to local and global rainfall patterns.
Forests, like the Amazon, are often referred to as
“natural water towers” because they release water
vapor that forms clouds and eventually returns as
rain, maintaining ecosystems and water sources.

Additionally, plants influence the climate by
regulating humidity and temperature around them.

• A potted plant with large
  leaves.

Learning Objectives

By completing this lab, students will:

• Use databot to measure humidity in different microenvironments.

• Observe and analyze how plants influence local humidity levels.

• Understand the importance of water movement in plants and its connection to the
  water cycle.

• Humidity: The amount of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is the % water vapor
  in the air compared to the total it will hold.

• Transpiration: The release of water vapor from plants into the atmosphere.

• Stomata: Small pores on the underside of leaves that regulate gas exchange and water
  release.

• Microclimate: A small, localized environment with distinct atmospheric conditions.

• Xylem: The plant tissue responsible for transporting water and nutrients from roots to
  leaves.

Life Science

Trees are water champions: A single mature oak tree can transpire over 150 gallons of
water into the atmosphere in a single day during the growing season.

Rainforests and rainfall: The Amazon rainforest generates about 20% of the world's oxygen
and acts as a massive water pump, cycling moisture across continents.

Desert adaptations: Plants like cacti have evolved to minimize water loss by reducing or
eliminating leaves and using their stems for photosynthesis.

Stomata “breathing”: Stomata not only release water but also control the intake of carbon
dioxide, crucial for photosynthesis. They can open and close depending on environmental
conditions.

Interesting Facts

The cooling effect of transpiration not only benefits the plant but also helps moderate the
temperature in the surrounding area, creating a comfortable microclimate for other
organisms.

This hands-on experiment demonstrates the water cycle and the importance of plants in
regulating environmental conditions.

• Graph showing the humidity

In order to work with the experiment you need to launch the Vizeey application and click on
+ in the upper right corner.

Then select “Add experiment from QR code” and scan the QR code prepared for this
experiment. Your experiment will appear in the list.

Using Vizeey

When you start the experiment you will be immediately
offered to connect to your databot. Make sure that databot
is turned on and in Vizeey mode with a blue blinking light.

• Humidity value in real-time.

This lab work investigates the humidity
sensor

Life Science

• The humidity value you can fix at the
  current moment by pressing the
  button.

During the experiment, you need to record the humidity values every 30 seconds.

Press the "Fix the value" button every 30 seconds to capture the next values for your data
table.

Once you have captured the values, write them down in the table to avoid losing any
information and prepare to capture the values at the next 30 second mark. Be fast and
accurate!

Part 1: Initial Observations and Discussion Questions

How might the size, shape, or texture of a leaf affect the amount of water vapor
released? _________________________________________________________________________

Do you expect the air under the leaf to be more humid than the air above? Why?

Part 3: Experiment Procedure

Before conducting the experiment, think about what might happen when you measure the
humidity under and above a leaf.

"I think the humidity under the leaf will be ____________________ compared to the air above

it because ___________________________________________________________________________

Life Science

Microclimate Beneath Leaves

You will investigate the difference in humidity
under and above plant leaves.

Materials Needed:

• databot with humidity sensor.

• A potted plant with large
  leaves.

• Select a healthy plant with large leaves.

• Take a ruler and fix databot with rubber bands to the tape so that the ruler does not
  cover the sensors.

• Turn on databot (using the small button on the left side)

• Tap on " Plant Microclimate" in Vizeey to load the experiment.

• You will be prompted to connect to databot.

  • Hint- if there is more than one databot in use, the one closest to you will be in blue!

  • A solid blue light on databot means you are connected.

• Start your experiment using:

  • Use these icons at the top of the screen in Vizeey to start and to pause the
    experiment.

Part 3: Experiment Procedure

Life Science

• Leave databot on for a few minutes so that the humidity can stabilize.

• Place databot with the humidity sensor under a leaf and record data every 30 seconds
  for 5 minutes.

The humidity sensor is very sensitive and reacts to even the slightest
changes. To get reliable data, do not bring your hand to the sensor during the
experiment, this can greatly affect the values.

Also, do not keep a water source nearby.

Life Science

• Record all observations in a table, noting the time and humidity levels for each location.

• Move databot over the same leaf and record data every 30 seconds for 5 minutes.

Write the name of the plant

_________________________________

Databot location: above or below
the leaf

_________________________________

Write the name of the plant

_________________________________

Databot location: above or below
the leaf

_________________________________

Microclimate Above Leaves

Part 3: Experiment Procedure

Life Science

Average Humidity

You can calculate the average humidity for different measurement points:

Make graphs of the results ( top of the leaf, under the leaf, and average values.)

Extend the Experiment: Investigating the Plant Stem

Repeat the experiment, but this time focus on the plant’s stem. Observe and measure the
humidity levels near the stem to compare with your previous findings under the leaves.

Additional Task

If the weather is suitable, move the plant into direct sunlight. Leave it there for 5 to 10
minutes, then repeat the experiment.

You may observe that the plant releases moisture more intensively under the sunlight due
to increased evaporation.

Do your calculations here

Data Interpretation:

Why is it important to take multiple measurements during the experiment?

How might different plants or environments impact the results of this experiment?

Do you expect the air under the leaf to be more humid than the air above? Why?

Why do you think plants release water vapor through their leaves?

1. How do your findings help you understand the role of plants in regulating humidity and
   supporting the water cycle?

2. Consider any environmental factors or measurement errors that may have affected

your results.

Life Science

Create a labeled diagram showing how water moves from the soil, through the roots and
stem, and exits through the stomata in the leaves.