rhizosphere

noun

rhi·​zo·​sphere ˈrī-zə-ˌsfir 

: soil that surrounds and is influenced by the roots of a plant

Examples of rhizosphere in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trehalose is not only found in plant cells where it is used for protection, but also in the soil around plant roots, which is called a rhizosphere. —Coren Walters-Stewart, Discover Magazine, 23 Nov. 2022

One species of bacteria that grows in the rhizosphere of birch roots is a fluorescent pseudomonad. —Richard Schiffman, Scientific American, 4 May 2021

This study is hard, for the rhizosphere is a habitat as complex, in its way, as a rainforest or a coral reef. —The Economist, 20 Feb. 2020

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Rhizosphäre, from rhizo- rhizo- + -sphäre -sphere

Note: The term was introduced by the German agronomist and microbiologist Lorenz Hiltner (1862-1923) in "Über neue Erfahrungen und Probleme auf dem Gebiete der Bodenbakteriologie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Gründüngung und Brache," Arbeiten der Deutschen Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft, Heft 98, "Bodenpflege und Pflanzenbau" (Berlin, 1904), p. 69.

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rhizosphere

• atmosphere
• biosphere
• centromere
• chemosphere
• chromosphere
• hemisphere
• hydrosphere
• lithosphere
• mesosphere
• microsphere
• miserere
• mountaineer