Explore the vast range of titles available.

\"Three mental health professionals cut through the \"parenting advice\" noise with this accessible, easy-to-skim book filled with actionable strategies and tips to help parents focus only what's truly essential and build their child's neurobiological capacity to thrive where they are planted, in good times and bad. The content centers around 10 \"essentials\": 1 Rest, recreation, and routine 2 Attention skills and self-control 3 Tolerance for difficult feelings 4 Tools to accept and manage anxiety 5 Psychological flexibility 6 Independence 7 Self-motivation 8 Compassion and gratitude 9 Resilience 10 Parents and caregivers who strive to embody these essentials, too-and who embrace that they themselves, just like their children, are works in progress\"-- Provided by publisher.

Despite its importance for urban planning, landscape management, and water management, there are very few in situ estimates of urban-forest transpiration. Because urban forests contain an unusual and diverse mix of species from many regions worldwide, we hypothesized that species composition would be a more important driver of spatial variability in urban-forest transpiration than meteorological variables in the Los Angeles (California, USA) region. We used constant-heat sap-flow sensors to monitor urban tree water use for 15 species at six locations throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. For many of these species no previous data on sap flux, water use, or water relations were available in the literature. To scale sap-flux measurements to whole trees we conducted a literature survey of radial trends in sap flux across multiple species and found consistent relationships for angiosperms vs. gymnosperms. We applied this relationship to our measurements and estimated whole-tree and plot-level transpiration at our sites. The results supported very large species differences in transpiration, with estimates ranging from 3.2 ±± 2.3 kg··tree −−1 ··d −−1 in unirrigated Pinus canariensis (Canary Island pine) to 176.9 ±± 75.2 kg··tree −−1 ··d −−1 in Platanus hybrida (London planetree) in the month of August. Other species with high daily transpiration rates included Ficus microcarpa (laurel fig), Gleditsia triacanthos (honeylocust), and Platanus racemosa (California sycamore). Despite irrigation and relatively large tree size, Brachychiton populneas (kurrajong), B. discolor (lacebark), Sequoia sempervirens (redwood), and Eucalyptus grandis (grand Eucalyptus) showed relatively low rates of transpiration, with values < 45 kg··tree −−1 ··d −−1 . When scaled to the plot level, transpiration rates were as high as 2 mm/d for sites that contained both species with high transpiration rates and high densities of planted trees. Because plot-level transpiration is highly dependent on tree density, we modeled transpiration as a function of both species and density to evaluate a likely range of values in irrigated urban forests. The results show that urban forests in irrigated, semi-arid regions can constitute a significant use of water, but water use can be mitigated by appropriate selection of site, management method, and species.

This book evaluates the early history of embodied cognition. It explores for the first time the life-force (Lebenskraft) debate in Germany, which was manifest in philosophical reflection, medical treatise, scientific experimentation, theoretical physics, aesthetic theory, and literary practice esp. 1740-1920. The history of vitalism is considered in the context of contemporary discourses on radical reality (or deep naturalism). We ask how animate matter and cognition arise and are maintained through agent-environment dynamics (Whitehead) or performance (Pickering). This book adopts a nonrepresentational approach to studying perception, action, and cognition, which Anthony Chemero designated radical embodied cognitive science. From early physiology to psychoanalysis, from the microbiome to memetics, appreciation of body and mind as symbiotically interconnected with external reality has steadily increased. Leading critics explore here resonances of body, mind, and environment in medical history (Reil, Hahnemann, Hirschfeld), science (Haller, Goethe, Ritter, Darwin, L. Büchner), musical aesthetics (E.T.A. Hoffmann, Wagner), folklore (Grimm), intersex autobiography (Baer), and stories of crime and aberration (Nordau, Döblin). Science and literature both prove to be continually emergent cultures in the quest for understanding and identity. This book will appeal to intertextual readers curious to know how we come to be who we are and, ultimately, how the Anthropocene came to be.

Elevated CO2 increases intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE i ) of forests, but the magnitude of this effect and its interaction with climate is still poorly understood. We combined tree ring analysis with isotope measurements at three Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE, POP-EUROFACE, in Italy; Duke FACE in North Carolina and ORNL in Tennes-see, USA) sites, to cover the entire life of the trees. We used δ13C to assess carbon isotope discrimination and changes in water-use efficiency, while direct CO2 effects on stomatal conductance were explored using δ18O as a proxy. Across all the sites, elevated CO2 increased 13C-derived water-use efficiency on average by 73% for Liquidambar styraciflua, 77% for Pinus taeda and 75% for Populus sp., but through different ecophysiological mechanisms. Our findings provide a robust means of predicting water-use efficiency responses from a variety of tree species exposed to variable environmental conditions over time, and species- specific relationships that can help modelling elevated CO2 and climate impacts on forest productivity, carbon and water balances.

The recent FACE model–data synthesis project used data from two FACE experiments to assess land ecosystem models. This Perspective details the 'assumption-centered' approach used to identify and evaluate the causes of model differences. Ecosystem responses to rising CO 2 concentrations are a major source of uncertainty in climate change projections. Data from ecosystem-scale Free-Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments provide a unique opportunity to reduce this uncertainty. The recent FACE Model–Data Synthesis project aimed to use the information gathered in two forest FACE experiments to assess and improve land ecosystem models. A new 'assumption-centred' model intercomparison approach was used, in which participating models were evaluated against experimental data based on the ways in which they represent key ecological processes. By identifying and evaluating the main assumptions causing differences among models, the assumption-centred approach produced a clear roadmap for reducing model uncertainty. Here, we explain this approach and summarize the resulting research agenda. We encourage the application of this approach in other model intercomparison projects to fundamentally improve predictive understanding of the Earth system.

Urban plant biodiversity is influenced by both the physical environment and attitudes and preferences of urban residents for specific plant types. Urban residents are assumed to be disconnected from their immediate environment, and cultural and societal factors have been emphasized over environmental factors in studies of landscaping choices. However, we postulate that local climatic and environmental factors can also affect preferences for plant attributes. Therefore, spatial and temporal patterns in urban tree biodiversity may be driven not only by the direct effect of environmental variables on plant function, but also by the effect of environmental variables on attitudes toward trees and associated choices about which types of trees to plant. Here, we tested the relative effects of socio-economic and local environmental factors on preferences toward tree attributes in five counties in southern California in and surrounding Los Angeles, based on 1,029 household surveys. We found that local environmental factors have as strong an effect on preferences for tree attributes as socio-economic factors. Specifically, people located in hotter climates (average maximum temperature 25.1 °C) were more likely to value shade trees than those located in cooler regions (23.1 °C). Additionally, people located in desert areas were less likely to consider trees to be important in their city compared with people located in naturally forested areas. Overall, our research demonstrates the inherent connections between local environmental factors and perceptions of nature, even in large modern cities. Accounting for these factors can contribute to the growing interest in understanding patterns of urban biodiversity.

Trees in urban ecosystems are valued for shade and cooling effects, reduction of CO 2 emissions and pollution, and aesthetics, among other benefits. However, in arid and semiarid regions, urban trees must be maintained through supplemental irrigation. In these regions it is desirable to identify tree species that are especially efficient in the balance between water loss and carbon uptake. We used a common-garden approach to compare water-use efficiency (WUE) at leaf and tree scales for commonly planted, nonnative tree species in the Los Angeles Basin (California, USA), in order to evaluate WUE as a metric of the trade-off between water use and growth in urban trees. Leaf-level gas exchange, sap flux density, leaf δ 13 C, and stem growth measurements were conducted on eight species within the Los Angeles County Arboretum: Brachychiton discolor , B. populneus , Eucalyptus grandis , Ficus microcarpa , Jacaranda chelonia , Gleditsia triacanthos , Lagerstroemia indica , and Koelreuteria paniculata . We found species with high instantaneous WUE also had the highest tree-level seasonal WUE (stem basal-area increment (BAI)/total transpiration). High tree-level WUE resulted from low water use in B. discolor , B. populneus , and E. grandis . In contrast, high basal-area growth explained moderately high WUE in F. microcarpa . Notably, high WUE was not associated with low BAI. At a monthly time scale, nearly all species showed the highest WUE during late spring/early summer, when the majority of basal-area growth occurred. Although leaf- and tree-level WUE were reasonably well correlated, leaf δ 13 C was not significantly related to leaf- or tree-level WUE. Overall, the most water-efficient species were evergreen, or from regions that experience high vapor-pressure deficit (VPD). These results suggest that whole-tree WUE is a useful measure of the balance between some critical costs and benefits of irrigated urban trees and may be helpful in determining which trees should be planted to maximize growth while conserving water. Although measuring whole-tree WUE directly provides the most complete understanding of urban tree costs and benefits, this study suggests that leaf-level instantaneous measurements of WUE and knowledge of species native climates may be reasonable proxies.

Models of forest energy, water and carbon cycles assume decreased stomatal conductance with elevated atmospheric CO₂concentration ([CO₂]) based on leaf‐scale measurements, a response not directly translatable to canopies. Where canopy–atmosphere are well‐coupled, [CO₂]‐induced structural changes, such as increasing leaf‐area index (LD), may cause, or compensate for, reduced mean canopy stomatal conductance (GS), keeping transpiration (EC) and, hence, runoff unaltered. We investigated GSresponses to increasing [CO₂] of conifer and broadleaved trees in a temperate forest subjected to 17‐yr free‐air CO₂enrichment (FACE; + 200 μmol mol⁻¹). During the final phase of the experiment, we employed step changes of [CO₂] in four elevated‐[CO₂] plots, separating direct response to changing [CO₂] in the leaf‐internal air‐space from indirect effects of slow changes via leaf hydraulic adjustments and canopy development. Short‐term manipulations caused no direct response up to 1.8 × ambient [CO₂], suggesting that the observed long‐term 21% reduction of GSwas an indirect effect of decreased leaf hydraulic conductance and increased leaf shading. Thus, ECwas unaffected by [CO₂] because 19% higher canopy LDnullified the effect of leaf hydraulic acclimation on GS. We advocate long‐term experiments of duration sufficient for slow responses to manifest, and modifying models predicting forest water, energy and carbon cycles accordingly.

Climate change, interacting with and exacerbating anthropogenic modifications to the landscape, is altering ecosystem structure and function, biodiversity, and species distributions. Among the most visible short‐term impacts are the altered ecological roles of foundation species—those species, native or non‐native—that create locally stable environmental conditions and strongly influence ecosystem services. Understanding the future of these species is crucial for projecting impacts on ecosystem services at both local and regional scales. Here we present foundation species by ecoregion study cases across the US South‐Central Region (Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), including C4 grasses, mesquite, and northern bobwhite in the Southern Great Plains, mangroves and nutria in coastal Louisiana wetlands, tiger salamanders and sandhill cranes in wetlands of the Southern Great Plains, and post and blackjack oaks and eastern redcedar in the Cross Timbers ecoregion. These case studies explore the impacts of climate change on foundation species and the consequences for ecosystem services, the outlook for climate adaptation efforts, and the sustainability of restoration in these systems. We underscore risks and vulnerabilities that stakeholders should consider when managing or restoring natural resources and conserving ecosystem services in an increasingly extreme and variable climate. We show that past management, through a lack of understanding or implementation of actions, has exacerbated shifts in invasive species, resulting in significant changes in ecosystem structure and function. These changes, interacting with landscape fragmentation and shifting land use and exacerbated by climate change, can result in critical losses of biodiversity. Unfortunately, lack of public understanding may hinder political support for restoration efforts and climate adaptation strategies crucial for the continued supply of traditional ecosystem services. Furthermore, the resulting invaded systems may provide opportunities for income via new ecosystem services valued by society that may reduce support for restoration to historical baselines, thus further shifting management priorities. These priorities should be informed by an understanding of past and ongoing ecological trends in region‐specific situations, such as those we present, to highlight the immediacy of climate change impacts on the environment and society and provide evidence for the critical nature of informed management decisions.

Societal Impact Statement People plant, remove, and manage urban vegetation in cities for varying purposes and to varying extents. The direct manipulation of plants affects the benefits people receive from plants. In synthesizing several studies of urban biodiversity in Los Angeles, we find that cultivated plants differ from those in remnant natural areas. This highlights the importance of studying cultivated plants in cities, which is crucial for the design and planning of sustainable cities. Residents have created a new urban biome in Los Angeles, and this has consequences for associated organisms, ultimately resulting in a responsibility for society to determine what type of biome we wish to create. Summary Urbanization is a large driver of biodiversity globally. Within cities, urban trees, gardens, and residential yards contribute extensively to plant biodiversity, although the consequences and mechanisms of plant cultivation for biodiversity are uncertain. We used Los Angeles, California, USA as a case study for investigating plant diversity in cultivated areas. We synthesized datasets quantifying the diversity of urban trees, residential yards, and community gardens in Los Angeles, the availability of plants from nurseries, and residents’ attitudes about plant attributes. Cultivated plant diversity was drastically different from remnant natural areas; compared to remnant natural areas, cultivated areas contained more exotic species, more than double the number of plant species, and turnover in plant functional trait distributions. In cultivated areas, most plants were intentionally planted and dominated by exotic species planted for ornamental purposes. Most tree species sampled in Los Angeles were available for sale in local nurseries. Residents’ preferences for specific plant traits were correlated with the trait composition of the plant community, suggesting cultivated plant communities at least partially reflect resident preferences. Our findings demonstrate the importance of cultivated species in a diverse megacity that are driven in part through commercial distribution. The cultivation of plants in Los Angeles greatly increases regional plant biodiversity through changes in species composition and functional trait distributions. The pervasive presence of cultivated species likely has many consequences for residents and the ecosystem services they receive compared with unmanaged or remnant urban areas. People plant, remove, and manage urban vegetation in cities for varying purposes and to varying extents. The direct manipulation of plants affects the benefits people receive from plants. In synthesizing several studies of urban biodiversity in Los Angeles, we find that cultivated plants differ from those in remnant natural areas. This highlights the importance of studying cultivated plants in cities, which is crucial for the design and planning of sustainable cities. Residents have created a new urban biome in Los Angeles, and this has consequences for associated organisms, ultimately resulting in a responsibility for society to determine what type of biome we wish to create.