Abstract
Grass–legume mixtures are increasingly recognized for their potential to enhance soil health and forage productivity through belowground biotic interactions. In this study, we evaluated the effects of Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures on biomass, soil properties, and bacterial community dynamics. Results showed that mixtures significantly reduced the fresh weight of faba bean (6.2 kg/m2) compared to monoculture (8.8 kg/m2, p < 0.001), while oat biomass increased under mixtures (3.2 kg m−2 vs. 2.8 kg m−2, p < 0.01). Available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) significantly decreased in the rhizosphere of both mixtures, whereas alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN) significantly increased, particularly in oat. Mixtures significantly enhanced bacterial richness, evenness, and Shannon diversity in faba bean (p < 0.01) but had no significant effect on oat diversity metrics. NMDS indicated distinct shifts in bacterial community structures under mixtures. Acidobacteriota and Vicinamibacteraceae were enriched in faba bean mixtures, whereas Actinobacteriota decreased in both forages under mixtures. Source Tracker analysis suggested substantial microbial exchange between species, with over 40% of the bacterial community in mixed roots originating from the partner monoculture. Although microbial community stability tended to decline under mixtures, differences were not significant. Niche breadth was significantly expanded in faba bean mixtures. Community assembly processes remained predominantly stochastic; however, mixtures slightly shifted the balance toward deterministic processes. Structural equation model revealed that soil physicochemical properties had a significant negative effect on diversity (β = −0.371, p = 0.007), and diversity had a significant negative effect on freshweight (β = −0.770, p < 0.001), suggesting that bacterial diversity may play a mediating role in the relationship between soil properties and plant fresh weight (β = 0.285, p = 0.011). These findings demonstrate that mixture-induced changes in soil nutrient status and microbial community characteristics collaboratively mediate plant performance through altered community assembly and diversity–function relationships.
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Claims 17
Claim · model-written summary
Faba bean fresh weight was significantly reduced under mixtures compared with monoculture, 6.2 versus 8.8 kg/m2.
- Taxon
- faba bean
Vicia fabae0 - Treatment
- mixturese0
- Outcome
- fresh weighte0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 6.2 kg/m2e0
- Comparator
- monoculturee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“mixtures significantly reduced the fresh weight of faba bean (6.2 kg/m2) compared to monoculture (8.8 kg/m2, p < 0.001)”
Claim · model-written summary
Oat biomass increased under mixtures, 3.2 versus 2.8 kg m−2.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“oat biomass increased under mixtures (3.2 kg m−2 vs. 2.8 kg m−2, p < 0.01)”
Claim · model-written summary
Available phosphorus and available potassium significantly decreased in the rhizosphere of both mixtures.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae1
- Treatment
- mixturese0
- Outcome
- Available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK)e0
- Direction
- significantly decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) significantly decreased in the rhizosphere of both mixtures”
e1“mixtures significantly reduced the fresh weight of faba bean (6.2 kg/m2) compared to monoculture (8.8 kg/m2, p < 0.001)”
Claim · model-written summary
Alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen significantly increased under mixtures, particularly in oat.
- Taxon
- oat
Avena sativae0 - Treatment
- mixturese1
- Outcome
- alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN)e0
- Direction
- significantly increasede0
- Qualifier
- particularly in oate0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (AN) significantly increased, particularly in oat”
e1“Available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) significantly decreased in the rhizosphere of both mixtures”
Claim · model-written summary
Mixtures significantly enhanced bacterial richness, evenness and Shannon diversity in faba bean.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- Mixturese0
- Outcome
- bacterial richness, evenness, and Shannon diversitye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mixtures significantly enhanced bacterial richness, evenness, and Shannon diversity in faba bean (p < 0.01)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mixtures had no significant effect on oat diversity metrics.
- Taxon
- oatAvena sativae1
- Treatment
- Mixturese0
- Outcome
- oat diversity metricse1
- Direction
- no significant effecte1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mixtures significantly enhanced bacterial richness, evenness, and Shannon diversity in faba bean (p < 0.01)”
e1“but had no significant effect on oat diversity metrics”
Claim · model-written summary
NMDS showed distinct shifts in bacterial community structures under mixtures.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Outcome
- bacterial community structurese1
- Qualifier
- distinct shiftse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mixtures significantly enhanced bacterial richness, evenness, and Shannon diversity in faba bean (p < 0.01)”
e1“NMDS indicated distinct shifts in bacterial community structures under mixtures”
Claim · model-written summary
Acidobacteriota and Vicinamibacteraceae were enriched in faba bean mixtures.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- faba bean mixturese0
- Outcome
- Acidobacteriota and Vicinamibacteraceaee0
- Direction
- enrichede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Acidobacteriota and Vicinamibacteraceae were enriched in faba bean mixtures, whereas Actinobacteriota decreased in both forages under mixtures”
Claim · model-written summary
Actinobacteriota decreased in both forages under mixtures.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- under mixturese0
- Outcome
- Actinobacteriotae0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Acidobacteriota and Vicinamibacteraceae were enriched in faba bean mixtures, whereas Actinobacteriota decreased in both forages under mixtures”
Claim · model-written summary
Over 40% of the bacterial community in mixed roots originated from the partner monoculture.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Outcome
- bacterial community in mixed roots originating from the partner monoculturee1
- Value
- over 40%e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“Source Tracker analysis suggested substantial microbial exchange between species, with over 40% of the bacterial community in mixed roots originating from the partner monoculture”
Claim · model-written summary
Microbial community stability tended to decline under mixtures, but the difference was not significant.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- under mixturese1
- Outcome
- microbial community stabilitye1
- Direction
- tended to declinee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“Although microbial community stability tended to decline under mixtures, differences were not significant”
Claim · model-written summary
Niche breadth was significantly expanded in faba bean mixtures.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- faba bean mixturese0
- Outcome
- Niche breadthe0
- Direction
- significantly expandede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Niche breadth was significantly expanded in faba bean mixtures”
Claim · model-written summary
Mixtures slightly shifted community assembly toward deterministic processes, which otherwise remained predominantly stochastic.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- mixturese1
- Outcome
- Community assembly processese1
- Direction
- slightly shifted the balance toward deterministic processese1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“Community assembly processes remained predominantly stochastic; however, mixtures slightly shifted the balance toward deterministic processes”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil physicochemical properties had a significant negative effect on bacterial diversity in faba bean mixtures.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- soil physicochemical propertiese1
- Outcome
- diversitye1
- Direction
- negative effecte1
- Value
- −0.371e1
- Qualifier
- p = 0.007e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“soil physicochemical properties had a significant negative effect on diversity (β = −0.371, p = 0.007)”
Claim · model-written summary
Bacterial diversity had a significant negative effect on faba bean fresh weight.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Treatment
- diversitye1
- Outcome
- freshweighte1
- Direction
- negative effecte1
- Value
- −0.770e1
- Qualifier
- p < 0.001e1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“diversity had a significant negative effect on freshweight (β = −0.770, p < 0.001)”
Claim · model-written summary
Bacterial diversity may mediate the relationship between soil properties and plant fresh weight.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Outcome
- plant fresh weighte1
- Value
- 0.285e1
- Qualifier
- mediating rolee1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“bacterial diversity may play a mediating role in the relationship between soil properties and plant fresh weight (β = 0.285, p = 0.011)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mixture-induced changes in soil nutrients and microbial community characteristics collaboratively mediate plant performance.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae0
- Outcome
- plant performancee1
- Qualifier
- mixture-induced changes in soil nutrient status and microbial community characteristicse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Vicia faba L. (faba bean 4060)–Avena sativa L. (oat ‘Baylor II’) mixtures”
e1“These findings demonstrate that mixture-induced changes in soil nutrient status and microbial community characteristics collaboratively mediate plant performance through altered community assembly and diversity–function relationships”