Role of Microorganisms in Greenhouse Gas Emission, Mitigation, and Consumption

Greenhouse gases like CO2, CH4, and N2O, which contribute to global warming, pose a significant threat to humanity. According to a recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Earth's temperature has been steadily rising by 1.5°C each year, which may have even greater impacts on the planet. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change is an urgent priority.

Microorganisms play a crucial role in the generation, mitigation, and consumption of greenhouse gases. For instance, microbial processes are responsible for 85% of the world's annual methane production and approximately 60% of its consumption. However, human activities have disrupted the natural balance between methane production and consumption, potentially accelerating greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential to understand how human activities impact the emission and consumption of greenhouse gases. At the same time, recently discovered microbial processes, such as aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation, comammox, and anammox, show promise in consuming greenhouse gases while their distribution and activity across different ecosystems remain largely unknown.

Within this research topic, our purpose is to understand: microbiological drivers for greenhouse gas emissions from natural environments (ocean, wetland, lake, etc.); the effects of human activities (mining, farming, landfilling, etc.) on microbiological-mediated greenhouse gas emissions; novel microbiological pathways (methanogenesis, aerobic/anaerobic methane oxidation, comammox, anammox, etc.) in greenhouse gas generation and consumption; model-based estimation for microbiological contributions to greenhouse gas consumption.

The following topics are welcome but not limited to:

- Microbiological mediated greenhouse gas emissions from natural environments.

- Effects of human activities on microorganisms involved in greenhouse gas generation, mitigation, and consumption.

- New microbial pathways and novel mechanisms for greenhouse gas generation and consumption.

- Model-based analysis to estimate the contributions of microorganisms on greenhouse gas consumption.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: greenhouse gas, microorganisms, climate change, nitrification, denitrification

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.