Soils have been called the most complex microbial ecosystems on Earth. A single gram of soil
can harbor millions of microbial cells and thousands of species. However certain soil
environments such as those experiencing dramatic change exposing new initial soils or that are
limited in precipitation limit the number of species able to survive in these systems. In this
respect these environments offer unparalleled opportunities to uncover the factors that
control the development and maintenance of complex microbial ecosystems. This book collects
chapters that discuss the abiotic factors that structure arid and initial soil communities as
well as the diversity and structure of the biological communities in these soils from viruses
to plants.
