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)

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.

The study of phytoliths—inorganic silica remnants plants leave behind when they die and decay—has developed dramatically over the last twenty years. New publications have documented a diverse array of phytoliths from many regions around the globe, while new understandings have emerged as to how and why plants produce phytoliths. Together, these developments make phytoliths a powerful tool in reconstructing past environments and human uses of plants. In Phytoliths, Dolores Piperno makes sense of the discipline for both those working directly with phytoliths in the field or the lab as well as for those who rely on the results of phytolith studies for their own research. Including over a hundred images, Piperno's book will be of great benefit to archaeologists and paleobotanists in the classroom or the lab.

This volume is the first in theAdvances in Archaeological and Museum Science series sponsored by the Society for Archaeological Sciences. The purpose of this biennial series is to provide summaries of advances in closely defined topics in archaeometry, archaeological science, environmental archaeology, preservation technology and museum conservation. The Society for Archaeological Sciences (SAS) exists to encourage interdisci plinary collaboration between archaeologists and colleagues in the natural and physical sciences. SAS members are drawn from many disciplinary fields. However, they all share a common belief that physical science techniques and methods constitute an essential component of archaeological field and laboratory studies. The General Editors wish to express their appreciation to Renee S. Kra and Frances D. Moskovitz of Radiocarbon for their special expertise and assistance in the production of this volume. We also appreciate the contribution of the two reviewers for their excellent comments and suggestions. The General Editor responsible for undertaking the development of this volume was R. E. Taylor.