RIO Vocabulary

3. the total amount of water used to produce the goods and services we use.
4. a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) that is formed in the earth from dead plants or animals.
7. a layer of rock and/ or sand that can absorb or hold water underground.
10. The process by which a green plant turns water and carbon dioxide into food when the plant is exposed to light.
11. Water that has been used: sewage
14. An organism (as many bacteria and fungi) that decomposes, or breaks down, organic material.
16. Species of plants or animals that have evolved to survive in a specific place.

1. Plants, animals, or insects that are brought from another place. They aggressively spread in the place they are transported to and often cause harm to native species.
2. An organism that obtains food by feeding on other organisms or organic matter.
5. The word itself is Spanish for forest. The water-dependent cottonwood forest that surrounds the Rio Grande. A riparian habitat, meaning living along the river.
6. a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.
8. the water that is needed or used to produce something.
9. the act of preserving, protecting, or restoring the natural environment, natural ecosystems, or natural resources.
12. All the land that drains into a large body of water. We live in the Rio Grande watershed.
13. An organism, either a green plant or bacterium, which is part of the first level of a food chain. Producers are responsible for photosynthesis.
15. A community of living things, together with its environment, functioning as a unit.