【Objective】 Coastal saline-alkali lands represent a critical yet fragile ecosystem where soil carbon dynamics are simultaneously influenced by natural salinity stress and anthropogenic management practices. Clarifying this interactive mechanism is essential for understanding carbon sequestration potential and for developing adaptive management practices in coastal agroecosystems under salinity stress. Specifically, we sought to determine how different fertilization strategies modulate the response of soil carbon pools and microbial processes to varying degrees of salt stress over a short temporal scale. Thus, the specific objective was to clarify the effects of the interaction between salinity and fertilization on the short-term turnover of soil organic carbon in coastal saline-alkali soils and to elucidate the underlying microbial driving mechanisms.【Method】 The soil used for this study was collected from a typical coastal saline area in the Bohai Rim region and subjected to a 30-day controlled pot experiment. Three salinity gradients (0 g·kg-1, 2 g·kg-1, and 4 g·kg-1 NaCl) were established and combined with four fertilization treatments: control (CK), chemical fertilizer (NPK), chemical fertilizer plus straw (NPKS), and bio-organic fertilizer (BF). A systematic analysis was carried out, encompassing measurements of soil carbon fractions (such as dissolved organic carbon and mineral-associated carbon), peroxidase activity, microbial community structure (via high-throughput sequencing), and the expression of key functional genes related to the carbon cycle.【Result】 Significant interactive effects between salinity and fertilization were observed across most of the measured soil and microbial parameters. Compared to the non-saline condition, the NPKS treatment under moderate salinity (2 g·kg-1) significantly increased soil dissolved organic carbon content (about 39%) and enhanced peroxidase activity, suggesting a stimulated decomposition of added organic materials. Concurrently, this treatment shifted the microbial community structure, favoring r-strategists over K-strategists, indicating a microbial functional adaptation towards faster growth and resource exploitation under the combined input of organic substrate and mild salt stress. In contrast, higher salinity (4 g·kg-1) markedly compromised the stability of iron-bound organic carbon, with its content decreasing by over 50% in the control treatment, highlighting a severe disruption of mineral-organic matter associations under strong saline conditions. The microbial r/K strategy composition showed a strong correlation with soil pH, which was itself modulated by the fertilization treatments. Furthermore, the expression of carbon cycle functional genes exhibited a clear non-linear response to salinity, reaching its peak at the 2 g·kg-1 salinity level, which points to a hormesis-like effect where low-level stress temporarily enhances microbial metabolic potential.【Conclusion】 The results demonstrate that the combined application of chemical fertilizer and straw can facilitate the transformation of active carbon pools in the short term by modulating microbial community function towards a more metabolically active state. However, elevated salinity constrains carbon stability primarily by weakening mineral protection mechanisms, thereby potentially offsetting the benefits of organic amendments in highly saline environments. This study provides insights into the short-term microbial regulation of carbon cycling in saline environments and highlights the importance of integrated management strategies that consider salinity thresholds. The findings imply that tailoring fertilization practices, such as straw incorporation, to specific salinity levels could optimize short-term carbon turnover and contribute to the sustainable management of coastal saline-alkali soils.