Body size determines soil multitrophic diversity along a litter stoichiometry gradient in agroecosystems

We investigated how crop residue stoichiometry (C:N ratio) shapes soil multitrophic communities including bacteria, fungi, and nematodes in a field experiment. Key findings show that: Higher litter C:N ratios reduce microbivore diversity but slightly increase predator diversity; The importance of selection processes relative to stochastic processes increased with organism body size and became more pronounced with increasing litter C:N ratio.The dataset includes: soil properties, microbial and nematode diversity indices, and body size data. These findings support improved crop residue management for soil biodiversity conservation.