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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
Leonardo da Vinci once mused that "we know more about the movement
of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot," an observation
that is as apt today as it was five hundred years ago. The
biological world under our toes is often unexplored and
unappreciated, yet it teems with life. In one square meter of
earth, there live trillions of bacteria, millions of nematodes,
hundreds of thousands of mites, thousands of insects and worms, and
hundreds of snails and slugs. But because of their location and
size, many of these creatures are as unfamiliar and bizarre to us
as anything found at the bottom of the ocean. Lavishly illustrated
with nearly three hundred color illustrations and masterfully
rendered black-and-white drawings throughout, "Life in the Soil"
invites naturalists and gardeners alike to dig in and discover the
diverse community of creatures living in the dirt below us.
Biologist and acclaimed natural history artist James B. Nardi
begins with an introduction to soil ecosystems, revealing the
unseen labors of underground organisms maintaining the rich
fertility of the earth as they recycle nutrients between the living
and mineral worlds. He then introduces readers to a dazzling array
of creatures: wolf spiders with glowing red eyes, snails with 120
rows of teeth, and 10,000-year-old fungi, among others. Organized
by taxon, "Life in the Soil" covers everything from slime molds and
roundworms to woodlice and dung beetles, as well as vertebrates
from salamanders to shrews. The book ultimately explores the
crucial role of soil ecosystems in conserving the worlds above and
below ground. A unique and illustrative introduction to the many
unheralded creatures that inhabit our soils and shape our
environment above-ground, "Life in the Soil" will inform and enrich
the naturalist in all of us.
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