“…This region is the birthplace and water supply area of the inland river basin in the Hexi Corridor and is an important ecological barrier in China (Barberán & Bates, 2012; Dawen et al, 2019; Shouguo et al, 2022). In recent years, with the enhancement of understanding of the unique geographical location of the QLMs, research on soil microorganisms in this region has gradually expanded, and progress has been made in altitudinal gradients (Fan et al, 2022). The altitudinal gradient covers the comprehensive impact of various environmental factors, such as temperature, precipitation, and light intensity, and plays an important role in determining the vertical distribution pattern of species diversity (Lomolino, 2001; Zhang, Wang, et al, 2017).…”