Patterns and influencing mechanisms of soil microbial carbon metabolism with altitude in Carex and Sphagnum peatlands

The present study primarily focuses on the characteristics of microbially mediated carbon metabolism in peatlands dominated by Carex and Sphagnum, located across different altitudinal gradients in the Changbai Mountains. The data examined encompass soil basic physicochemical properties, microbial biomass quantified through phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, and isotope fractionation between different carbon chains of PLFAs and substrate carbon isotopes.