Temporal dynamics remain critical in studies of microbially-mediated ecosystem processes (reviewed in \cite{Ladau_2019}).
Studies have assessed changes in soil microbial communities on temporal scales ranging from days to decades (REFs). Changes over time such as dry-rewetting cycles, introduction of organic matter, pulses of labile substrates (e.g. root exudation), seasonal dynamics and succession of the plant community may in-turn influence the composition and activity of the soil microbial community (18, other REFs). Therefore, careful consideration should be taken when designing experiments in order to sample microorganisms at the relevant temporal scale.
A critical parameter when investigating temporal scales is the rate of community change detectable with amplicon sequencing which represents a snapshot of microbial prevalence at a given moment.