Soil bacteria and archaea

In this chapter, we introduce soil bacteria and archaea. The chapter includes fundamental information on bacterial and archaeal metabolisms and physiologies relevant to the terrestrial environment, as well as their major lineages that inhabit soils and ecological considerations for understanding how their community composition relates to ecosystem functions. This introduction serves as a cornerstone for the deeper study of the processes and patterns of bacteria and archaea, their relationships with other soil microbes, and their contributions to key biogeochemical cycles supported by soil ecosystems.