Summary It is difficult to understand the processes that structure immensely complex bacterial communities in the soil environment, necessitating a simplifying experimental approach. Here, we set up a microcosm culturing experiment with soil bacteria, at a range of nutrient concentrations, and compared these over time to understand the relationship between soil bacterial community structure and time/nutrient concentration. DNA...

Selective logging and forest conversion to oil palm agriculture are rapidly altering tropical forests. However, functional responses of the soil microbiome to these land‐use changes are poorly understood. Using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we compared composition and functional attributes of soil biota between unlogged, once‐logged and twice‐logged rainforest, and areas converted to oil palm plantations in...