Effects of tillage practices in stover-return on endosphere and rhizosphere microbiomes

Abstract This study investigated the effects of different tillage practices (conventional tillage, no-tillage, stover dislocation, and deep tillage) on endophytic and rhizospheric microbial communities in a 9-year maize stover returning experiment in Inner Mongolia using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Results showed that tillage practices significantly impacted microbial community composition, functional guilds, and interaction networks, with effects varying across plant growth stages. No-tillage (NT) increased denitrifying bacteria and plant pathogens, while stover dislocation (SD) and deep tillage (DT) enhanced nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Network analysis indicated that high-intensity tillage (SD and DT) improved microbial community stability, but DT also stabilized harmful microorganisms. Overall, SD was deemed the most suitable method. Future research should focus on long-term impacts and integrate more ecosystem health indicators for comprehensive evaluation.