Reducing Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer Increases Soil Bacterial Diversity and Drives Co-Occurrence Networks

Abstract

Reducing nitrogen fertilizer application highlights its role in optimizing soil bacterial communities to achieve sustainable agriculture. However, the specific mechanisms of bacterial community change under these conditions are not yet clear. In this study, we employed long-term field experiments and high-throughput sequencing to analyze how varying levels of nitrogen application influence the soil bacterial community structure and co-occurrence networks. The results show that reducing the nitrogen inputs significantly enhances the diversity and evenness of the soil bacterial communities, possibly due to the diminished dominance of nitrogen-sensitive taxa, which in turn liberates the ecological niches for less competitive species. Furthermore, changes in the complexity and stability of the bacterial co-occurrence networks suggest increased community resilience and a shift toward more mutualistic interactions. These findings underline the potential of reduced nitrogen application to alleviate competitive pressures among bacterial species, thereby promoting a more diverse and stable microbial ecosystem, highlighting the role of competitive release in fostering microbial diversity. This research contributes to our understanding of how nitrogen management can influence soil health and offers insights into sustainable agricultural practices.