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Effects of Corn Straw Returning Patterns on Soil Bacterial Community Structure in Soybean Under a Corn-Soybean
Xiaohui Wang1, Demin Rao1, Debin Yu1
1Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Northeast Agricultural Research Center of China), Changchun 130033, China.
Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 14, 2026
Summary
No-tillage with straw mulching (NTS) significantly enhances soil fertility and bacterial communities in corn-soybean rotations. This method optimizes soil health by increasing nutrients and microbial diversity compared to conventional tillage.
Area of Science:
- Agricultural Science
- Soil Science
- Microbiology
Background:
- Straw returning improves soil structure and organic matter.
- Limited research exists on corn straw's impact on soybean soil microbial communities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of different tillage practices with straw management on soil bacterial communities in a corn-soybean rotation.
- To identify optimal straw returning strategies for soil health and microbial optimization.
Main Methods:
- Compared conventional combined tillage (CT) with no-tillage with straw mulching (NTS), no-tillage with stubble retention (NT), and deep plowing with straw incorporation (DT).
- Analyzed soil properties, enzyme activities, and bacterial community structure (richness, diversity, abundance).
- Utilized redundancy analysis (RDA) to identify key driving factors of bacterial community changes.
Main Results:
- NTS treatment showed significantly higher soil total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, urease, and acid phosphatase activities.
- NTS significantly increased bacterial richness, diversity, and the abundance of Acidobacteriota and an unclassified bacterial genus (MND1).
- NTS had the highest unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) percentage (26.67%), while CT had the lowest (7.22%).
Conclusions:
- No-tillage with straw mulching (NTS) is the optimal approach for improving soil fertility and optimizing the soil bacterial community in corn-soybean rotation systems.
- NTS enhances soil properties and microbial habitats by combining straw mulching benefits with reduced soil disturbance.
- Soil nitrogen and phosphorus levels are key drivers influencing bacterial community shifts under different straw management practices.
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