Karst is a type of landscape on carbonate rocks (limestone, dolomite, marble) or evaporites (gypsum, anhydrite, rock salt) and is typified by a wide range of closed surface depressions, a well-developed underground drainage system, and a paucity of surface streams. Karst landscapes occupy up to 10% of the Earth’s land surface. It has special particularities, such as soluble rock, soil scarcity, double-layer structure, water leakage, subterranean space without light, relatively stable temperature, higher humidity, etc. To adapt to the karst landscape, the unique microbial community was shaped and evolved after the formation of the karst landscape on earth which play an important role in biogeochemical cycles and shaping landforms.

Considering the important role of microorganisms in karst, the identity, functions, interactions with the environment, and ecological roles of microorganisms in karst all should be addressed. Recent advances in microbial ecology and biogeochemistry in karst have been made in many aspects, including the formation mechanism of microbial communities, microbial interactions, biogeochemical cycle processes of elements mediated by microorganisms, and their influence on mineralization and weathering of carbonate rocks or evaporites, thanks to the use of new technologies and the intersection with other disciplines (such as mineralogy and geochemistry). Microorganisms play a critical role in the processes of material transformation and the energy cycle. Therefore, research into microbial community composition and ecological function in karst areas has attracted much attention.

This Research Topic covers the microbial study in subsurface karst and surface karst, including the surface of carbonate rocks (limestone, dolomite, marble) or evaporites (gypsum, anhydrite, rock salt) in the karst area, the weathered soil of these rocks, surface rivers affected by these rock dissolution, underground water and sediment of dark and anoxic underground rivers, the surface of the rock and so on in the cave.

This Research Topic welcomes reviews and original research articles related but not limited to the following aspects of the karst ecosystem:

• Distribution and diversity of the microbial communities.
• Succession mechanisms, adaptation, function, and evolution of microbes.
• Microbe-microbe, microbe-environment, and microbe-mineral interactions.
• Microbial metabolisms.
• Microbial roles in biogeochemical processes, including biomineralization and mineralization efficiency.
• Effects of human activities on microbial communities, especially on functions and the mechanisms.
• Microbes and climate change.
• New culture-dependent vs culture-independent methods for studying microbial communities.

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Frontiers in Microbiology

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