Long‐term Camellia oleifera cultivation influences the assembly process of soil bacteria in different soil aggregate particles

Abstract Understanding the mechanisms that govern microbial community assembly across a soil–plant continuum is crucial for predicting the responses of ecosystems to environmental changes. However, the impact of the health status of plants on microbial assemblies across these continuums remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the stochastic and deterministic processes associated with different aggregate particles and Camellia oleifera growth stages (sapling, maturity, and degeneration periods). The composition of bacterial communities in C. oleifera soil was significantly affected by cultivation length and aggregate size, and cultivation length plays a more important role in the regulation of bacterial composition. The assembly processes of the bacterial community were dominated by deterministic processes in soil aggregates at different growth stages. Soil structurality determined soil α‐diversity and β‐diversity to a greater extent than soil nutrient content. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms of soil bacterial community in different soil aggregates and C. oleifera plantation lengths and highlights the significance of soil physical properties to mediate soil microbial community composition and abundance.