Riparian zones maintain biodiversity, cyclic nutrients, and regulate water quality. However, anthropogenic disturbances such as dam construction and climate variability threaten their stability. This study explored the seasonal and vegetation-specific dynamics of soil properties and microbial communities in riparian zones dominated by artificially remediated plants (ARPs). We studied these ARPs ( Cynodon dactylon (CD), Hemarthria altissima (HA), Salix matsudana (SM), and Taxodium distichum (TD)) across spring (T1), summer (T2), and autumn (T3). Analysis of 360 soil samples produced high-quality sequences that revealed insights into microbial diversity. Principal component analysis showed that organic matter, ammonium nitrogen, and total nitrogen were the main contributors to soil property variance. They explained 53.68% (T1), 51.52% (T2), and 56.37% (T3) of the variance (p < 0.01). The correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between soil pH and Nitrospirae (r = 0.603) and Proteobacteria (r = 0.558). Enzyme activity varied by season; acid phosphatase was highest in T3, and invertase was highest in T1. This study made functional predictions and identified pathways relevant to metabolism, genetic information processing, and environmental signal transduction. Both T3 via TD and T3 via CD showed seasonal shifts in their metabolic pathways. These shifts included an increase in carbohydrate metabolism in T3 via TD and an increase in amino acid metabolism in T3 via CD. Analysis of microbial diversity identified 68 bacterial phyla, with Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria being the dominant taxa. Our results show that ARPs improve microbe health, nutrient cycling, and the ecosystem as a whole. This has implications for restoring riparian ecosystems in places where the environment has changed.