A favorite habitat of microbes is near and in the roots of plants. The rhizosphere is a huge habitat in the soil, because plants have so many root fibers.
Some microbes have very close relationships with plants.
This association of microbes and roots often benefits both organisms. The plant gives the microbes food, such as sugars and amino acids , and the microbes give the plants minerals , some vitamins , nitrogen, and some amino acids . One example of a microbe living inside plant roots is Rhizobium , which lives inside the roots of plants such as peas and clover. Another group of microbes living inside roots are mycorrhizal fungi . Rhizobia and the mycorrhizal fungi live with plants in symbiotic relationships.