6 Grazing-induced microbiome alterations drive soi

6 Grazing-induced microbiome alterations drive soil organic carbon turnover and productivity in meadow steppe.RESEARCHOpenAccessGrazing-inducedmicrobiomealterationsdrivesoilorganiccarbonturnoverandproductivityinmeadowsteppeWeibingXun1,2,RuiruiYan3,YiRen1,DongyanJin3,WuXiong1,GuishanZhang2,ZhongliCui1,XiaopingXin3*†andRuifuZhang1,2*†AbstractBackground:Grazingisamajormodulatorofbiodiversityandproductivityingrasslands.However,ourunderstandingofgrazing-inducedchangesinbelow-groundcommunities,processes,andsoilproductivityislimited.Here,usingalong-termenclosedgrazingmeadowsteppe,weinvestigatedtheimpactsofgrazingonthesoilorganiccarbon(SOC)turnover,themicrobialcommunitycomposition,resistanceandactivityunderseasonalchanges,andthemicrobialcontributionstosoilproductivity.Results:Theresultsdemonstratedthatgrazinghadsignificantimpactsonsoilmicrobialcommunitiesandecosystemfunctionsinmeadowsteppe.Thehighestmicrobialα-diversitywasobservedunderlightgrazingintensity,whilethehighestβ-diversitywasobserved