Articles | Volume 23, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-6671-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-6671-2026
Research article
 | 
23 Sep 2026
Research article |  | 23 Sep 2026

Profile-wide desalinization is associated with increased deep-soil microbial biomass and reduced iron-bound carbon in coastal wetland restoration

Jingwen Gao, Pengcheng Jiang, Xiaofei Ye, Xingna Lin, Xuexin Shao, Ming Wu, and Niu Li

Cited articles

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Ascenzi, I., Hilbers, J., van Katwijk, M. M., Huijbregts, M. A. J., and Hanssen, S. V.: Increased but not pristine soil organic carbon stocks in restored ecosystems, Nat. Commun., 16, 637, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55980-1, 2025. 
Berg, J. S., Jézéquel, D., Duverger, A., Lamy, D., Laberty-Robert, C., and Miot, J.: Microbial diversity involved in iron and cryptic sulfur cycling in the ferruginous, low-sulfate waters of Lake Pavin, PLoS ONE, 14, e0212787, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212787, 2019. 
Bhan, M., Misher, C., Hiremath, A., and Vanak, A. T.: Restoration maintains high soil carbon stocks in Asia's largest tropical grassland, Ecol. Appl., 35, e70073, https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70073, 2025. 
Brookes, P. C., Landman, A., Pruden, G., and Jenkinson, D. S.: Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: A rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil, Soil Biol. Biochem., 17, 837–842, https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(85)90144-0, 1985. 
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Short summary
Coastal wetland restoration often removes invasive plants, but its effects on deep soil carbon are uncertain. We compared plastic mulching and deep tillage for eighteen months in an invaded wetland. Mulching reduced soil salt, increased microbial biomass in deep soil, and coincided with lower carbon and iron-bound carbon through one metre of soil. These results show that restoration methods can affect hidden deep soil carbon, so monitoring should include the whole soil profile.
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