Soil microbial ecology: Microbial processing of carbon and nitrogen underlie the capacity of soil to support plant growth in agriculture, rangeland, forests, and wetlands. However the extreme heterogeneity of soil and the scale at which microorganisms interact with their habitat has made understanding the ecology of soil microbes a challenge of long duration. The research done in the Firestone lab aspires to fundamental understanding as well as knowledge applicable to current problems including terrestrial system response to global change, sustainability, biodegradation, and soil structure.