microenvironment

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English

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Etymology

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From micro- +‎ environment.

Noun

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microenvironment (plural microenvironments)

  1. A very small area that has different characteristics than its surroundings.
  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.