3.7 PLS-PM analysis
To better integrate the interrelationships among N application, tillage
practices, microbial communities, soil enzyme activities, soil microbial
CUEC:N, POC, and MAOC, we constructed a partial least
squares path model (Fig. 9). The indirect effect of tillage treatments
(0.38) on soil microbial CUEC:N was larger than that of
N application (0.13). We further found that tillage management and N
application affected microbial CUEC:N through changing
soil bacterial diversity, fungal community structure, and fungus
diversity more than bacterial and fungal biomass. The responses of
microbial CUEC:N to bacterial and fungal diversity were
also different (Fig. 9). Moreover, the results showed that microbial
CUEC:N and soil enzyme activities had a direct effect on
soil POC.