Vernal pools are ephemeral wetland ecosystems that provide habitat for specialized plants and animals. They form "archipelagos" distributed across the landscape. Microbial communities in vernal pool soil and water show environmental filtering between habitats. Next-generation sequencing of soil samples revealed differences in microbial composition between soil, wet soil, and water. Species diversity and community composition changes with increasing spatial distance between pools, following a distance-decay pattern. Vernal pools may provide insights into the origins and mechanisms of biodiversity as well as how biodiversity responds to environmental changes. As a new frontier for science, further study of vernal pool ecosystems can help us understand the role of symbiosis and adaptation in life.