Ecological restoration shapes soil carbon pools and microbial carbon cycling functions in the coastal wetlands of Bohai Bay

Coastal wetlands have high carbon sequestration potential, and microorganisms are essential in soil carbon cycling. Their functions are regulated by carbon pool compositions and environmental conditions. Three ecological restoration strategies in the Bohai Bay coastal zone—Suaeda salsa restoration (SRZ), Spartina alterniflora cutting (SCZ), and seagrass planting (SZ)—effects on wetland carbon pool compositions and key environmental factors were examined, and metagenomic sequencing was used to characterize the carbon cycling functions in restored soils. The data primarily include soil physicochemical parameters, carbon pool component contents, bacterial and archaeal diversity, abundances of microbial carbon fixation pathways and carbon-fixing microorganisms, diversity of carbon-fixing microbes, abundances of microbial carbon degradation pathways and carbon-degrading microorganisms, and diversity of carbon-degrading microbial communities across different restoration zones. These findings elucidate the mechanisms by which ecological restoration regulates microbial carbon cycling via altering soil conditions and provide a basis for enhancing carbon sequestration and optimizing restoration strategies for coastal wetlands.