Abstract: Background Vegetation restoration in arid regions is a key strategy to combat desertification and land degradation, with shrub planting playing a crucial role in enhancing regional ecological stability and carbon sequestration. The Kerqin Desert, located in the northern part of China, is a typical arid region where vegetation restoration efforts have significantly improved the ecological environment. However, there is a lack of systematic research on the differences in carbon pool distribution and carbon sequestration functions across different shrublands. Methods This study selected four shrub species (Artemisia halodendron, Corethrodendron fruticosum, Caragana microphylla, and Salix gordejevii) from the vegetation restoration area around the transmission tower bases in the Kerqin Desert to systematically analyze the vertical distribution characteristics of aboveground and belowground biomass carbon, soil organic carbon, and inorganic carbon, along with their main influencing factors. Results The results showed significant differences in both aboveground and root biomass carbon across the four shrub species. The highest biomass carbon was found in the S. gordejevii plantations (2233.48±116.70 g m?2), while the lowest root biomass carbon was observed in the A. halodendron plantations (422.43±10.96 g m?2). Except for C. fruticosum, the aboveground biomass carbon in the other shrublands was significantly higher than the root biomass carbon. In terms of soil carbon storage, A. halodendron had the highest organic carbon (249.44±14.58 g m?2) and inorganic carbon (750.99±33.37 g m?2) content, while C. microphylla and S. gordejevii exhibited lower carbon storage. Compared to nearby bare land, the soil organic and inorganic carbon storage in shrublands increased significantly, with increases of 66.20?254.57% for organic carbon and 35.30?146.45% for inorganic carbon. The soil carbon storage decreased with increasing soil depth, with organic carbon accounting for 42.74?49.87% of the total in the shallow soil layer (0?40 cm). Correlation analysis indicated that soil carbon storage was significantly correlated with microbial biomass carbon, microbial biomass nitrogen, alkaline phosphatase, β-glucosidase, but showed no significant correlation with root biomass carbon. Conclusions These findings suggest that vegetation restoration effectively increases soil carbon storage, with microbial activity playing a key role in soil carbon transformation and accumulation. This study provides important scientific and practical support for carbon sequestration and soil quality improvement in arid regions.