Soybean rhizosphere soil bacteria
Cereal-legume intercropping, typified by the soybean-maize system, is a vital approach for enhancing land-use efficiency and promoting sustainable agriculture. However, during late growth stages, soybean growth is often limited by shading from maize. Under this system, moderate nitrogen (N) reduction is beneficial for enhancing soybean nodulation and nitrogen fixation; yet, the impacts of intercropping and reduced N application on the soybean rhizosphere microbial community structure remain unclear. To investigate these effects, this study employed two planting patterns (MS: monoculture soybean; IS: maize-soybean strip intercropping) and three N levels (N0: 0 kg/ha; N1: reduced N, 45 kg/ha; N2: conventional N, 60 kg/ha). We measured soybean nodule phenotypes and photosynthetic carbon accumulation at the V5, R1, R3, and R5 stages, and analyzed rhizosphere microbial communities via 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencingThe results showed that after the R3 stage, IS significantly reduced nodule number and dry weight