Summary
Microorganisms are key components of soil biodiversity and are essential for organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. So far it is unclear whether pesticide application influences microbial communities and the contribution of microbes to soil functioning and plant growth. To address this, we manipulated soil microbial diversity and created a diversity gradient, ranging from an average of 32 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 312 bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) to 204 OTUs and 1000 ASVs, respectively. This reduction in microbial diversity resulted in significant decreases in litter decomposition (-43.7%), carbon-substrate usage (-56.0%), acid phosphatase activity (-54.1%), and plant growth (-98.6%). Pesticide application significant
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