Long-Term Conservation Tillage Practices Directly and Indirectly Affect Soil Micro-Food Web in a Chinese Mollisol

Soil micro-food webs play an essential role in maintaining or improving the stability of agricultural soils, and they can be influenced by tillage. However, little is known with respect to soil microbial faunal communities their relationships shaped long-term tillage practices. The goal this study was investigate impact 38 years no-tillage (NT), subsoil (ST), moldboard plow (MP), rotary ridge (CT) practices on communities, properties using high-throughput sequencing technology structural equation modeling (SEM) at 2 depths (0–20 cm 20–40 cm). results indicate that, after 38-year (1983–2020) period, bacterial, fungal, protozoan, metazoan gene copy numbers under NT treatment 0–20 were 1.31–6.13 times higher than those other treatments. Conversely, protozoan alpha diversities reduced compared CT treatment. MP significantly increased cm. Moreover, bacterial community composition remarkably varied relative fungi fauna response depths. Additionally, highest lowest average connectivities web networks observed ST treatments, respectively. SEM demonstrated that explained 73–98% abundances, diversities, compositions. depth direct quantitative effects indirect altering mean weight diameter aggregates, organic carbon, total nitrogen. Overall, recommended as optimal practice for application northeast China, it could improve aid forming a more complex structure.