The Arabian Gulf ranks among the world’s most arid and warm regions; the land has high salinity levels with many Sabkhas and receives little precipitation. This region holds about one-third of the world’s oil supply. Qatar is the leading gas producer worldwide, which raises many concerns about the pollution of the sea, groundwater, and soil. Thus, the Arabian Gulf area has paid particular attention to environmental studies since the environmental status of this region imposed unique biological diversity, and microbial ecology has gained special importance following the identification of promising roles of microorganisms. This review article discusses the microbial ecology at the main habitats of the State of Qatar. We discuss important principles for successful ecological restoration and future perspectives of using biological approaches to solve many problems related to health, the economy, and agriculture. There are at least five microbial communities that have been recognized at the Qatari habitats: marine environment, salt marshes and mangrove forests, the arid lands (including dune communities), wetlands (including pond communities), and Rawdahs (including the Ghaf tree communities). Some case studies are presented to describe the biochemical characterizations of bacterial isolates from soils and leaf surface of native plants, including halophytes and xerophytes at these habitats. These studies rarely went beyond the general identification at species levels. There is a discussion about the possible roles of microorganisms at the rhizosphere, non-rhizosphere, and phyllosphere, and using plant exudates to control microbial activity. However, published studies addressing these topics have opened the door for deeper investigations using modern approaches. In the future, it is likely that microorganisms will be used to tackle many pollution issues, as well as environmental, health, and economic problems.

中文翻译：

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阿拉伯湾-卡塔尔的微生物生态学：微生物的可能作用

阿拉伯湾是世界上最干旱和最温暖的地区之一；这片土地盐分高，有许多 Sabkhas，降水量很少。该地区拥有全球约三分之一的石油供应。卡塔尔是全球领先的天然气生产国，这引起了许多对海洋、地下水和土壤污染的担忧。因此，阿拉伯湾地区特别重视环境研究，因为该地区的环境状况赋予了独特的生物多样性，微生物生态学在确定微生物的有希望的作用后变得特别重要。这篇评论文章讨论了卡塔尔国主要栖息地的微生物生态学。我们讨论了成功生态恢复的重要原则以及使用生物方法解决与健康、经济和农业相关的许多问题的未来前景。卡塔尔栖息地至少有五个微生物群落已被确认：海洋环境、盐沼和红树林、干旱地区（包括沙丘群落）、湿地（包括池塘群落）和 Rawdahs（包括 Ghaf 树群落） . 介绍了一些案例研究来描述来自土壤和原生植物叶面的细菌分离物的生化特征，包括这些栖息地的盐生植物和旱生植物。这些研究很少超出物种水平的一般鉴定。讨论了微生物在根际的可能作用，非根际和叶际，并使用植物分泌物来控制微生物活动。然而，针对这些主题的已发表研究为使用现代方法进行更深入的调查打开了大门。未来，微生物很可能会被用于解决许多污染问题，以及环境、健康和经济问题。