Environmental microbiology aims at establishing a fundamental knowledge framework on the functioning of ecosystems through analyses of chemical and biological processes
and environmental parameters, including anthropization, that regulate them over a wide range of scales. These scales extend from molecules to ecosystems, and encompass rapid to slow
chemical and metabolic dynamics, as well as biotic interactions at individual, population and community levels. Environmental microbiology lies at the heart of ecology and relies
upon contributions from analytical chemistry, biogeochemistry, ecology, evolution, (meta) genomics and microbial physiology. As a result, environmental microbiology is inherently multidisciplinary. Integrative approaches which associate in-situ investigation on the diversity and functions of microbes with physical/chemical characterization of their environment and in-vitro molecular and physiological microbiology, provide new opportunities for outstanding discoveries