Microbial Community Ecology and Functional Roles in Salt Marsh Wetland Ecosystems

Salt marsh wetlands are vital coastal ecosystems that deliver essential ecological services, including shoreline stabilization, nutrient filtration, and substantial carbon sequestration (“blue carbon”). At the core of these services lie complex microbial communities, which perform pivotal roles in biogeochemical cycles—such as nitrogen transformation, carbon turnover, and sulfur cycling. These communities are highly sensitive to environmental gradients, such as salinity, tidal dynamics, and anthropogenic disturbances.

Advancements in molecular ecology, metagenomics, and stable isotope techniques have recently provided unprecedented insights into the diversity, structure, and functioning of salt marsh microbiomes. Despite this progress, our grasp of how these microbial communities regulate ecosystem processes under the dual pressures of climate change and human activity remains incomplete. Key questions persist regarding resilience, adaptability, and the mechanisms underpinning microbial-mediated ecosystem functions in the face of rising sea levels, increasing salinity, eutrophication, and warming.

This Research Topic seeks to advance our understanding of the diversity, structure, and functional interactions of microbial communities in salt marsh wetlands across multiple spatial and temporal scales. We aim to highlight the ways in which these communities respond to, and potentially buffer, environmental change—including climate-driven and anthropogenic stressors. Particular attention will be given to leveraging integrative approaches (multi-omics, stable isotope probing, experimental manipulation, and ecological modeling) to unravel the ecological roles and functional resilience of salt marsh microbiomes.

By assembling interdisciplinary research, we aspire to bridge knowledge gaps about microbial contributions to critical ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas regulation, and nutrient cycling. Further, we encourage work addressing the implications of microbial dynamics for salt marsh management, restoration, and conservation under global change scenarios.



We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives that explore the microbial dimension of salt marsh wetlands. Submissions may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Microbial Community Structure and Dynamics:

Investigations into the composition, diversity, succession, and biogeography of microbial communities in salt marshes, including comparative studies across different wetland types (e.g., coastal salt marshes, mangroves, arid-region wetlands).

• Microbial Functional Roles and Biogeochemical Cycling:

Analyses of microbial-mediated processes involved in carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycling, and their contributions to ecosystem productivity and functioning across environmental gradients.

• Microbial Responses to Global Change:

Evaluations of microbial community responses to key drivers such as sea-level rise, altered salinity and hydrology, nutrient enrichment, temperature shifts, and other anthropogenic impacts.

• Integrative and Innovative Methodologies:

Application of -omics (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics), stable isotope techniques, and ecological modeling to advance mechanistic understanding of microbial roles in salt marsh ecology.

• Microbial Contributions to Ecosystem Services and Management:

Studies highlighting the links between microbial processes and broader ecosystem services, as well as implications for ecosystem restoration, resilience, and climate adaptation strategies.