Editorial: Special thematic issue on applying microbial community research to improve conservation and restoration outcomes

Although soil microbial communities, e.g. fungi and bacteria, are still largely considered a “black box”, their central role in ecosystem processes and function is indisputable. Despite the important role they play in carbon and nitrogen cycling, decomposition and plant health, there have been few attempts to incorporate soil microbial communities into conservation and restoration practice (Birnbaum et al. 2019).