The microbial habitat in soil: Scale, heterogeneity and functional consequences

The microbial habitat is rarely studied in soil microbial ecology even though microbial cells are exposed and adapt to their local environmental conditions. The physical environment also constrains interactions among organisms. The nature of microbial communities and their functioning can only be fully understood if their habitat is accounted for. Here, I describe the soil microbial habitat and show how our understanding of microbial functioning has been shaped by this line of investigation.