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).