3.2 | Effects of grazing intensity on microbial
richness and composition
Grazing intensity had significant impacts on rhizosphere bacterial
richness but not on that in non-rhizosphere (Figure 2a, b). However,
grazing intensity had little impact on fungal richness in both regions
(Figure 2c, d).
For microbial composition, the dissimilarity in bacterial community
exhibited an increasing trend with the increase in grazing intensity in
both regions (Figure 3a). In rhizosphere, the relative abundance ofProteobacteria increased significantly under moderate and heavy
grazing while that of Acidobacteria decreased (Figure 3b; Table
S3). In non-rhizosphere, the relative abundances ofProteobacteria and Acidobacteria declined with the heavy
grazing while that ofActinobacteriaincreased (Figure 3c; Table S3). The dissimilarity in fungal community
also displayed an increasing trend with the increase in grazing
intensity in both regions (Figure 3d). Specifically, the dominant taxa,Ascomycota , displayed a marked increase in relative abundance
under moderate and heavy grazing (Figure 3e, f; Table S3).