Fig. 6

Treatment-induced changes in soil properties and N-cycling microbial guilds and inferred correlations with microbial OTUs. a Treatment-induced changes in soil inorganic nitrogen pools (NH4+ and NO3-), soil pH, and relative abundance of the OTU-258 (Nitrosospira sp.) in the removal treatments and the control (Step 1) as well as in the self-mixed removal treatment, the coalescence treatment, and the self-mixed control (Step 2). The letters indicate significantly different statistical groups (Tukey’s test, p value ≤ 0.05). b Data integration analysis of 16S rRNA sequences (OTU, circle shaped nodes), inorganic N pools (triangle-shaped nodes), soil pH (square-shaped node), abundances of N-cycling microbial guilds (diamond-shaped nodes), and soil respiration rates (hexagon-shaped nodes) in all samples, regardless the step or treatment. The taxonomic identities of the OTUs are indicated at the class level. The links indicate positive (blue) or negative (red) correlation (Pearson’s correlation |r|> 0.6)