New Releases by James B. Nardi

Este libro es como una ventana que James Nardi abre para que podamos contemplar cuánta vida se despliega en torno a los árboles, en sus ramas, en el tronco y en el suelo. Asistimos a la vida de todos sus acompañantes, un verdadero cosmos de arqueas y bacterias hasta vertebrados, pasando por una innumerable cantidad de artrópodos de todos los tamaños, todo un mundo de interacciones entre ellos y con los propios árboles, redes de intercambios ...una realidad compleja. Los depredadores, la mayoría, tratan de evitarse unos a otros de maneras que con frecuencia sorprenden por ingeniosas, hay casos curiosos de cooperación entre grupos bien distintos, y de parasitismo en múltiples modalidades. Los compañeros de los árboles pueden actuar como polinizadores o dispersores de frutos y semillas, pero también como recicladores de materia, gracias a los cuales la vida puede continuar indefinidamente. Algunos llevan vidas o, en palabras de Nardi, se dedican a «oficios» diametralmente opuestos en diferentes momentos de su ciclo vital.

A spectacularly illustrated journey into the intimate communities that native trees share with animals, insects, fungi, and microbes You can tell a lot about a tree from the company it keeps. James Nardi guides you through the innermost unseen world that trees share with a wondrous array of creatures. With their elaborate immune responses, trees recruit a host of allies as predators and parasites to defend against uninvited advances from organisms that chew on leaves, drain sap, and bore into wood. Microbial life thrives in the hidden spaces of leaf scales, twigs, and bark, while birds, mammals, and insects benefit from the more visible resources trees provide. In return, animals help with pollination, seed dispersal, and recycling of nutrients. The Hidden Company That Trees Keep blends marvelous storytelling with beautiful illustrations and the latest science to reveal how the lives of trees are intertwined with those of their diverse companions. Features a wealth of richly detailed drawings accompanied by breathtaking images of microscopic landscapes on leaf, bark, and root surfaces Includes informative fact boxes Draws on new discoveries in biology and natural history Written by one of the world’s leading naturalists

Uncovering a secret world teeming with life, The World Beneath Our Feet profiles more than 100 creatures that live and work in ordinary, everyday dirt, describing a veritable underground empire just below our feet. From the smallest of bacteria to the denizens of the duff -- such as gophers and groundhogs -- each entry includes an elegant drawing of the subject, a fact box containing scientific statistics, and an essay about the life, role, and curious features of the creature. The 25-page "goings-on in the ground" section introduces the reader to soil -- what it is, how it supports life, how it evolved, and why it wears out -- and provides a context with which to understand how and why it needs the decomposing and recycling skills of animals. Appendixes discuss erosion and the dos and don'ts of composting, including how to build a compost center in your backyard. Backmatter includes a glossary of earth-related terms, websites, further reading, and an index.