Multiple extreme environmental conditions of intermittent soda pans in the Carpathian Basin (Central Europe)

•Soda pans can be highly turbid, alkaline, polyhumic, and hypertrophic habitats.•Some pans are among the most turbid aquatic ecosystems in the world.•Due to their shallowness, water temperature undergoes high daily fluctuations.•The combination of environmental boundaries creates an extreme aquatic ecosystem.