Study on the characteristics of rhizosphere microbial communities and carbon sequestration functions in mangroves at different restoration stages

Mangroves are one of the ecosystems with the highest carbon storage per unit area on Earth, and organic carbon in sediment is an important component of it. Although previous studies have indicated that the early restoration stage is a critical period for the rapid increase of organic carbon in mangrove sediment, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesize that the rapid increase of organic carbon in mangroves during this stage is mainly driven by rhizospheric carbon-fixing microorganisms. To test this hypothesis, this study selected mangrove forests at different stages of early restoration(including 0 years (mudflat), 3 years, 6 years, and 12 years) as research subjects, investigating the characteristics of mangrove plant communities and organic carbon at different restoration stages. Through high-throughput sequencing technology and metagenomics, we studied the composition, structure, and functional characteristics of the bacterial, archaeal, and carbon-functional microbial communities in mangrove ecosystems of different ages in the early restoration stage, integrating sediment organic carbon characteristics and environmental factors.