Abstract
High crop diversity can potentially enhance farmland productivity and ecosystem services, through direct or indirect effects, particularly belowground. Intercropping is a powerful technique to increase crop diversity and belowground biodiversity. It has attracted long-term global attention. However, little is known about the impacts of belowground microbiota on intercropping-driven increases in crop productivity. This study was an 8-year experiment involving five maize planting patterns, which aimed to distinguish the contributions of rare and abundant microbiota (bacteria, fungi, and eukaryotes) in rhizosphere soil to support maize production. The results indicated that the richness and phylogenetic diversity of rare microbial taxa were significantly higher than those of abundant taxa across all soil samples. Maize and soybean intercropping increased the diversity of rare taxa rather than abundant taxa. Plant growth stages significantly altered the community composition of both rare and abundant microbial taxa. The assembly of the rare and abundant communities is mainly driven by deterministic processes and, in particular, the abundant taxa rather than the rare taxa mainly contributed to maize productivity gain. The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae. The network complexity of abundant fungi and eukaryotic communities also exerted notable effects on maize productivity. Overall, these findings underscored the importance of the core taxa and network stability of abundant microbiota in intercropping systems. This suggests the potential of intercropping to improve crop production by regulating belowground microbial effects in intensive agroecosystems.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Maize and soybean intercropping increased the diversity of rare microbial taxa rather than abundant taxa.
- Treatment
- Maize and soybean intercroppinge1
- Outcome
- diversity of rare taxae1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Comparator
- abundant taxae1
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e1“Maize and soybean intercropping increased the diversity of rare taxa rather than abundant taxa”
Claim · model-written summary
Richness and phylogenetic diversity of rare microbial taxa were higher than those of abundant taxa across all soil samples.
- Interactor
- rare microbial taxae2other
- Outcome
- richness and phylogenetic diversity of rare microbial taxae2
- Direction
- highere2
- Comparator
- abundant taxae2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e2“the richness and phylogenetic diversity of rare microbial taxa were significantly higher than those of abundant taxa across all soil samples”
Claim · model-written summary
Plant growth stages significantly altered the community composition of rare and abundant microbial taxa.
- Treatment
- Plant growth stagese3
- Interactor
- microbial taxae3other
- Outcome
- community composition of both rare and abundant microbial taxae3
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e3“Plant growth stages significantly altered the community composition of both rare and abundant microbial taxa”
Claim · model-written summary
The assembly of rare and abundant microbial communities is mainly driven by deterministic processes.
- Outcome
- assembly of the rare and abundant communitiese4
- Qualifier
- mainly driven by deterministic processese4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e4“The assembly of the rare and abundant communities is mainly driven by deterministic processes”
Claim · model-written summary
Abundant microbial taxa rather than rare taxa mainly contributed to the maize productivity gain.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e5“in particular, the abundant taxa rather than the rare taxa mainly contributed to maize productivity gain”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with core species of bacterial Actinomycetales.
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e7“The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with core species of Rhodocyclaceae.
- Interactor
- RhodocyclaceaeRhodocyclaceaee7other
- Outcome
- changes in maize productivitye7
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e7“The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with core species of fungal Tausonia.
- Outcome
- changes in maize productivitye7
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e7“The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with core species of Curvularia.
- Interactor
- Curvularia
Curvulariae7other - Outcome
- changes in maize productivitye7
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e7“The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with core species of eukaryotic Leptophyryidae.
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e7“The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with core species of eukaryotic Ochromonadaceae.
- Interactor
- OchromonadaceaeOchromonadaceaee7other
- Outcome
- changes in maize productivitye7
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e7“The changes in maize productivity were significantly associated with many core species in the abundant microbial communities mainly belonging to bacterial Actinomycetales and Rhodocyclaceae, fungal Tausonia and Curvularia, and eukaryotic Leptophyryidae and Ochromonadaceae”
Claim · model-written summary
Network complexity of abundant fungi and eukaryotic communities had notable effects on maize productivity.
- Interactor
- abundant fungi and eukaryotic communitiese2other
- Outcome
- maize productivitye2
- Qualifier
- network complexitye2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“productivity of maize through intercropping”
e2“The network complexity of abundant fungi and eukaryotic communities also exerted notable effects on maize productivity”