Evaporation+and+Transpiration

=River water use by plants - Transpiration= As you know, plants take up water through their roots in order to stay alive. Plants not only take water in through their roots, they also will release water into the air out of their leaves. When a plant releases water vapor into the air it is called **transpiration**. We will be investigating the loss of river water through the transpiration of water through Grand Valley fruit orchards as well as the invasive Tamarisk trees.

Tamarisk Trees
Tamarisk trees are a relative new comer to the banks of the Colorado River. The Tamarisks were actually imported into our area in the 1800s. Among other problems, these trees consume a substantial amount of water from the Colorado River. Use the resources below to learn about how the Tamarisk tree fits into the water cycle of the Colorado River.

Discover Moab - Tamarisk FAQ

Grand Valley fruit orchards
Western Colorado is known for various crops, such as peaches, grapes and sweet corn. These plants require water to survive and that water comes from the Colorado River. As you know, water is a scarce resource in Western Colorado. **Evaporation** and **run-off** can waste valuable water. There are solutions to reduce water waste through irrigation.

Use the resources below to learn about how we can use water more efficiently and avoid water loss to the natural processes of the water cycle.

CSU - Drip Irrigation

__Image attributions__
Bob Jones [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Image: '[|'Mount Garfield' From The California Zephyr -+(+2+views+)]'  http://www.flickr.com/photos/36989019@N08/6087687014