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Caragana microphylla Lam., a leguminous shrub, is a dominant native plant species widely planted to stabilize the moving and semi-moving sand dunes in the semi-arid Horqin sandy land of Northeast China. The objective of this study was to determine how C. microphylla plantations affected the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of a sandy soil. Soil samples at the depths of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40-50 cm were collected from the C. microphylla plantations with an age sequence of 0, 5, 10, and 23 years. The results showed that shrub growth altered microclimate, increased litter input, and hence, improved soil water holding capacity, contents of total carbon, total N and microbial biomass C and N, electrical conductivity, and activities of urease, phosphomonoesterase, protease, dehydrogenase and polyphenol oxidase, and decreased soil bulk density. These trends increased with increasing plantation age but decreased with increasing soil depth. C. microphylla establishment could be an effective and applicable measure to restore vegetation and control desertification in the Horqin sandy land, and recommended for adoption in semi-arid sandy areas on a large scale. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.