Microbial Composition and Function in Soil and Groundwater Systems: 2nd Edition
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 1875
Special Issue Editors
Interests: microbial biogeochemistry; microbe-mineral interaction; soil and groundwater contamination; microbial ecology; hydrogeochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: soil ecology; microbial ecology; environmental science and related fields; biogeochemical cycle of carbon and nitrogen in grassland soil; microbial diversity and functional change; grassland ecosystem health evaluation; sustainable utilization of grassland resources.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: groundwater microbiology; hydrochemistry; microbial diversity and function; biogeochemical cycle
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental microbiology; microbiota-mediated elemental geochemical cycling processes; microbial community diversity and ecological aggregation mechanism; soil mineral-microbial extracellular electron transfer mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The editors are grateful to the researchers who contributed to the success of the first volume of this issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/special_issues/Microbial_Composition). We are very pleased to announce the second volume of our Special Issue.
Over a century of research on microorganisms in natural environments has shed light on their diverse community compositions and versatile functions, allowing us to understand some of their critical roles in soil and groundwater systems. Diverse microbial communities are present in soil at numbers of approximately 108 to 109 cells per gram, while they are less diverse in groundwater systems due to the nutrient-depleted conditions. Their presence maintains the fertility of the soil, transforms nutrients, weathers minerals, affects groundwater chemistry, and degrades organic matter, generating labile materials useful to other organisms. Most activities and functions of microbial communities in soil and groundwater are the direct result of their astounding metabolic versatility, relying on chemoheterotrophic/chemolithotrophic reactions involving organic/inorganic compounds for sources of energy and nutrients. These activities and functions link the biosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere in the Earth’s critical zone. Aside from natural processes, anthropogenic activities transport contaminants across surface soil to vadose-zone soil and groundwater, causing both positive and negative feedback from microbial communities. The abilities of microbial communities to destroy or detoxify organic and inorganic contaminants (e.g., heavy metals) are of huge significance to environmental protection and human health. This Special Issue will therefore present advances in understanding the metabolism, distribution, and underlying drivers of microbial communities and their functions in both pristine and contaminated soil and groundwater systems, with the aim of improving our understanding of global nutrient biogeochemical cycles, contaminant bioremediation, biotechnology development, and the exploration of biological resources.
Dr. Yizhi Sheng
Dr. Juejie Yang
Dr. Liang Guo
Dr. Ying Liu
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- soil and groundwater
- microbial community composition
- element biogeochemical cycle
- bioremediation
- ecological restoration
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