not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown The brush straw checkerboard barrier offers a novel approach to sand control and features 60% higher design efficiency and a longer lifespan of 6 years compared to the traditional artificial straw checkerboard barrier. The wind tunnel test and field observation confirmed that the brush straw checkerboard barrier has high sand fixation efficiency. But how do these two sand barriers perform in terms of restoring soil function? How does the effectiveness of restoring soil function change as the service life of the straw checkerboard barrier increases? These questions still need to be clarified further. This study, conducted in Zhongwei, Ningxia, China, examined plots with brush straw checkerboard barrier, artificial straw checkerboard barrier, and bare sand. The results show that the brush straw checkerboard barrier is superior in improving soil moisture, organic matter, total nitrogen and electrical conductivity compared to the artificial straw checkerboard barrier. In addition, the brush straw checkerboard barrier has a positive impact on microbial diversity and community composition. Increasing sand fixation year through the brush straw checkerboard barrier correlates with improved soil properties and microbial indexes, suggesting that it has the potential for widespread application in desertification mitigation.