Biogeochemistry and Ecology of Extreme Microbial Habitats

Many studies in environmental microbiology begin by surveying microbial habitats and collecting samples. However, these surveys often serve only as a prelude to lab-based experiments, genomic analyses, or biogeochemical measurements, leaving the environments themselves underexplored.

In this Research Topic, we put a spotlight on extreme microbial habitats as subjects worthy of detailed investigation in their own right. We invite studies that conduct comprehensive, polyphasic surveys of unique environments—integrating in-situ measurements of chemical and physical conditions, spatial distribution patterns, temporal dynamics, and microbial community composition. Examples include high-resolution studies of microbial mats, detailed mapping of terrestrial hot spring systems or deep-sea hydrothermal vents, investigations of marine and estuarine salinity gradients, analyses of habitats shaped by seasonal changes, work on well-characterized redox interfaces, studies of nutrient and substrate gradients, or examinations of dynamically changing bioremediation sites.

For environmental microbiologists with detailed knowledge of their study sites, this collection offers a platform to share rich, site-specific insights that are often compressed into brief descriptions or relegated to supplementary materials. Our goal is to restore a strong sense of place to microbial field research—an essential perspective for understanding microbial resilience, adaptation, and survival in their natural environments.

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: Extreme environments, microbial habitats, extremophiles, microbial field work, hydrothermal vent microbiology, hot spring microbiology, microbial survival in native habitats, site-specific microbiology

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.