Peatlands are transition ecosystems between terrestrial and aquatic environments, formed by the accumulation in time and space of plant tissues under conditions of excessive humidity, low nutrient availability, low pH and oxygen scarcity, where organic matter undergoes slow humification processes. The peatland ecosystems of the Southern Espinhaço Mountain Range, located in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, were formed by the sui generis combination of environmental factors, source of its great biodiversity, endemic and peculiar. For thousands of years these ecosystems have been developing, preserving proxies for environmental reconstitution, sequestering more and more carbon and increasing their capacity to store water ("sponge effect") and regulate the flow of water courses. Environmental reconstitution studies carried out in these ecosystems have evidenced several regional paleoclimatic changes in the last 35 thousand years. The stock of sequestered carbon is 4,877,840 tons and 142,138,262 m3 of water are stored in 14,288 ha of these peatlands. These ecosystems constitute the headwaters of rivers in the most important basins in eastern Brazil: the São Francisco, Jequitinhonha and Doce river basins and regulate their flow during the dry period of the year. However, peatlands located outside protected areas are threatened by anthropization. The Long-Term Ecological Research Program "Peatlands of the Southern Espinhaço Mountain Range: ecosystem services and biodiversity" – PELD TURF (fund: CNPq and FAPEMIG), started in 2021, intensified the characterization and monitoring of the biodiversity and ecosystem services of these peatlands. The results of two decades of research revealed the importance of these ecosystems for biodiversity, for the global carbon cycle, for regional water resources and for paleoenvironmental reconstitution. It was also evident that the rapid degradation of these ecosystems, caused mainly by anthropization, can irreversibly compromise, in the medium term, their ecosystem services, biodiversity and paleoenvironmental reconstitution studies. Thus, it is urgent to empower local and regional communities about the importance of peatland ecosystems both for the environment, for the socio-economy and for the quality of life of their populations, as well as for the planet.

Age of first exposure to the target language has been shown to be a strong predictor of phonological attainment (e.g., Pullen, 2012; Piske et al., 2001 & Moyer, 1999). Results from these studies support the Critical Period Hypothesis, that is, the notion that there is a neurological period, ending at the onset of puberty, beyond which mastery of a second language is no longer achievable (Lenneberg, 1967). The prominence of the Critical Period Hypothesis in the field of Applied Linguistics has diminished the impact of research on socio-psychological differences in second language acquisition. A neurologically based component such as age of learning onset is not, however, the single determining factor of second language ability. Little is known about the influence of socio-psychological factors on pronunciation performance. This book attempts to bridge this gap in the literature by examining the effects of beliefs about second language pronunciation on phonological performance. The book concludes that certain beliefs associated with affective factors appear to be detrimental to L2 phonological attainment.

This book is the result of a collective re¬flection among scholars from 8 federations and decentralized countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Mexico) who sought to update approaches and arguments on federalism in a post-COVID-19 scenario. On one hand, the pandemic highlighted the importance of federalism to deal with complex intergovernmental problems. On the other hand, federations also faced challenges to coordinate different spheres of government. The pandemic has allowed intense learning about the potential and limits of multilevel governance and federal arrangements in addressing emergencies and crises whose effects spread throughout the country. Regarding contemporary challenges such as climate emergency and democratic backsliding, which take on particular contours in federal, quasi-federal, and decentralized countries, the book offers insightful thoughts for scholars and practitioners. Federalism and federal countries can be pivotal in this debate due to their form of territorial division of power. This volume seeks to contribute to these discussions based on thoughts grounded on different national settings. The volume is organized in 16 chapters that contemplate essential topics on federalism and federations, based both on theoretical refl¬ections and empirical research. The chapters were mainly organized to offer for the authors a comparative perspective between the international debate and the Brazilian context. The book covers central issues such as federalism and institutional forms, federalism and democracy, federalism and de/centralization, managing interdependences and intergovernmental relations, federalism and ethnic diversity and federalism and challenges for the welfare state. Although this book is subject to the scrutiny of time, in line with changes in federations themselves, both organizers and authors aspire to provide ongoing debates with insightful contributions on Federalism and Democracy in Brazil and Beyond. This book is an essential reading for students and scholars of federalism, intergovernmental relations, multilevel governance and comparative politics.

Revise for Cambridge University Certificates of English: A 500-Hundered Key Work Transformation Revision: (for First B2, Advanced C1 & Proficiency C2) Are you a candidate for one of Cambridge Exams above? In this book, you will find: * 150 Key Word Transformation sentences for First (B2); * 175 KWT sentences for Advanced (C1) & * 175 KWT sentences for Proficiency (C2). Ideal to brush up on your English a few days before sitting the official exam, by refreshing strategies to deal effectively with this section of the paper "Use of English".  Answer key to all of the TKT sentences, plus explanatory NOTES on:  (-near) synonyms and (near-) antonyms  word formation  collocation  and other relevant aspects of the English language. The book concludes with 10 Language Boosters and a Word List: 1 – Advanced Vocabulary for Michigan ECPE, Toefl and Ielts 2 – Phrasal Verbs (Upper, Advanced and Proficiency) 3 – Idioms (by themes) 4 – Binomials (collocation) 5 – Dependent Prepositions (nouns and adjectives) 6 – Dependent Prepositions (verbs) 7 – Do or Make? (Collocation) 8 – Rare English Words 9 – Similar Expressions in English and Portuguese 10 – False (and True) Friends (Cognates) 11 – Word List (Extra Vocabulary from Answer Key)

This book discusses the concepts of Technological Foresight and Technological Roadmap, which are essential for preparing the Case Studies presented on Biogas, Automation and Information Technologies for Occupational Health and Safety, and Digital Technologies in Occupational Health. The book aims to provide decision-makers with a foundation for strategic planning, anticipating market and technological trends, as well as windows of opportunity.

This book covers water quality indices (WQI) in depth – it describes what purpose they serve, how they are generated, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make the best use of them. It is a concise and unique guide to WQIs for chemists, chemical/environmental engineers and government officials. Whereas it is easy to express the quantity of water, it is very difficult to express its quality because a large number of variables determine the water quality. WQIs seek to resolve the difficulty by translating a set of a large number of variables to a one-digit or a two-digit numeral. They are essential in communicating the status of different water resources in terms of water quality and the impact of various factors on it to policy makers, service personnel, and the lay public. Further they are exceedingly useful in the monitoring and management of water quality. With the importance of water and water quality increasing exponentially, the importance of this topic is also set to increase enormously because only with the use of indices is it possible to assess, express, communicate, and monitor the overall quality of any water source. - Provides a concise guide to WQIs: their purpose and generation - Compares existing methods and WQIs and outlines strengths and weaknesses - Makes recommendations on how the indices should be used and under what circumstances they apply

Soils form a unique and irreplaceable essential resource for all terrestrial organisms, including man. Soils form not only the very thin outer skin of the earth's crust that is exploited by plant roots for anchorage and supply of water and nutrients. Soils are complex natural bodies formed under the influence of plants, microorganisms and soil animals, water and air from their parent material, i.e. solid rock or unconsolidated sediments. Physically, chemically and mineralogically they usually differ strongly from the parent material, and normally are far more suitable as a rooting medium for plants. In addition to serving as a substrate for plant growth, including crops and pasture, soils play a dominant role in the biogeochemical cycling of water, carbon, nitrogen and other elements, influencing the chemical composition and turnover rates of substances in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Soils take decades to millennia to form. We tread on them and do not usually see their interior, so we tend to take them for granted. But improper and abusive agricultural management, careless land- clearing and reclamation, man-induced erosion, salinisation and acidification, desertification, air- and water pollution, and withdrawal of land for housing, industry and transportation now destroy soils more rapidly than they can be formed.