Tropical peatland microbiomes as a One Health nexus: linking soil, plant, and climate health across land-use transitions

The One Health framework recognizes the intrinsic connections among environmental, plant, animal and human health. While soils and soil microbes have received substantial attention in the recent years, tropical peatlands still remain largely overlooked despite representing globally important reservoirs of carbon, biodiversity, freshwater. Microorganisms are central regulators of peat accumulation, nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas exchange and ecosystem resilience, yet their role as mediators of One Health outcomes has received limited attention. Emerging evidence from tropical peatlands demonstrates that land-use change, drainage, fire and agricultural conversion substantially alter microbial community composition and function, with cascading effects on ecosystem processes. In this Perspective, peatland microbiomes are proposed as critical but neglected One Health nexus linking soil health, vegetation dynamics, wildlife habitat quality, climate regulation and human wellbeing. Considering, oil palm plantations that produce the most consumed vegetable oil in the world, cover substantial portion of tropical peatlands, tropical peat also plays a crucial role in food security and safety. The perspective argues that microbial communities should move from being considered ecological indicators to becoming policy-relevant components of peatland governance. Furthermore, incorporation of microbiome informed indicators into restoration, carbon accounting and ecosystem health frameworks is proposed as a necessity. By integrating microbial ecology with One Health principles, tropical peatlands can serve as an impactful model system for understanding how belowground biodiversity underpins ecosystem services and planetary health.