microenvironment

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.? Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós)der. English micro- Middle French environnementbor. English environment English microenvironment From micro- + environment.

1. A very small area that has different characteristics than its surroundings; the milieu (set of conditions) within this area.

   “What was seen from the top down, as a large environment with many difficult trade-offs, is instead seen from the bottom up--as 10 million microenvironments, each to be regulated in its own right. It is this inversion of perspective that distinguishes microgovernment from other kinds of regulation, and that accounts for its often-bizarre behavior.”

2. A very small area that has different characteristics than its surroundings; the milieu (set of conditions) within this area.
3. A very small area that has different characteristics than its surroundings; the milieu (set of conditions) within this area.

   “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.”