microenvironment

English

Etymology

From micro- +‎ environment.

Noun

microenvironment (plural microenvironments)

1. A very small area that has different characteristics than its surroundings; the milieu (set of conditions) within this area.
   1. (ecology) Synonym of microhabitat.
   2. (biology) The very small environment in the immediate vicinity of an organism.
      • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, pages 3-4:

        As with the Lejeuneaceae, this pattern of massive speciation appears to be correlated with the Cretaceous explosion of the angiosperms and the simultaneous creation of a host of new microenvironments, differing in humidity, light intensity, texture, etc.

Related terms

• microecology