--- ---  # See Incredible Close-Ups of Plant Life Battling Climate Change by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Nov 30, 2015 7:49 PM UTC  Eucalyptus stomata detail Eucalyptus stomata detailRobert Dash by [TIME Photo](https://time.com/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Nov 30, 2015 7:49 PM UTC As the climate talks opens in Paris, more than 40,000 delegates from 195 countries are gathering to address—and eventually reverse—the rising concentration of carbon in the atmosphere, which is leading to worldwide climate disruption. That’s the problem on the macro scale. On the micro scale, at least some of this comes down to “stomata,” the tiny structures found on the outer layer of leaves that absorb carbon dioxide and send oxygen into the atmosphere. The stomata consist of a small pore surrounding by two guard cells. For billions of years these microscopic exhaust valves have helped keep oxygen and CO2 levels balanced in the atmosphere. But since the dawn of the Industrial Age, we’ve been making their work much harder. As the plants struggle to adapt, the micrographs of photographer Robert Dash reveal the stomata for the elegant—and fragile—things they are. See more of Robert Dash’s work on his website  Western red cedar stomata Robert Dash  Striped maple stomata Robert Dash  Canadian Yew stomata detail Robert Dash  Quaking aspen stoma detail Robert Dash  Quaking aspen stomata Robert Dash  Eucalyptus stomata Robert Dash  Camas lily anther stomata Robert Dash  Douglas fir needle stomata Robert Dash  Garry oak stomata and trichomes Robert Dash  Red maple stomata and trichomes Robert Dash  Paper birch stomata Robert Dash  Eucalyptus stomata detail Robert Dash  Poplar stomata and trichomes Robert Dash  Oregon grape stomata Robert Dash  Horsetail stomata Robert Dash See Microscopic Photographs of Carbon Fighting Plant Life ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4128153/see-incredible-close-ups-of-plant-life-battling-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4128153/see-incredible-close-ups-of-plant-life-battling-climate-change/"},"headline":"See Incredible Close-Ups of Plant Life Battling Climate Change","datePublished":"2015-11-30T19:49:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:51.307Z","description":"Robert Dash, a photographer and environmentalist, highlights the negative impact increasing greenhouse gases have on plants in his body of work entitled Show Me the Carbon.","url":"https://time.com/4128153/see-incredible-close-ups-of-plant-life-battling-climate-change/","keywords":["climate change","carbon","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e8e6e637674b2bc/698872ea196cf49115039317/robert-dash-show-me-the-carbon-euclayptus2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e8e6e637674b2bc/698872ea196cf49115039317/robert-dash-show-me-the-carbon-euclayptus2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robert Dash Show Me the Carbon","caption":"Robert Dash Show Me the Carbon","creditText":"Robert Dash","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4128153/see-incredible-close-ups-of-plant-life-battling-climate-change/","name":"See Incredible Close-Ups of Plant Life Battling Climate Change"}}]}] ```