Data from: Grazing-induced enhancement of shrub 'multifunctional island' effect is associated with altered soil bacterial β diversity in shrub-encroached grasslands

The presence of shrubs improves ecosystem multifunctionality within their
patches, an effect termed the 'multifunctional island' effect.
However, the mechanisms underlying the 'multifunctional island'
effect of shrubs and its response to grazing are unclear. This study
investigated how grazing regulates these effects through a field
experiment conducted on three paired grazed and ungrazed sites within
shrub-encroached grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China. The analysis
included 14 functional variables related to plant productivity and soil
carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling. The results indicated that
shrubs significantly improved ecosystem multifunctionality, creating thus
a pronounced 'multifunctional island' effect. This effect varied
with grazing conditions and was more pronounced under grazed scenarios.
Structural equation modeling indicated that grazing directly increased
shrub 'multifunctional island' effect and indirectly enhanced it
through changes in soil bacterial β diversity, with 51% of the variance in
'multifunctional island' effect being explained. Copiotrophic
bacteria, notably Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and
Actinobacteria, known for accelerating nutrient cycling,
played a pivotal role in mediating this effect. Synthesis and
applications: Collectively, our study provides robust evidence that
grazing intensifies the relative advantage of shrubs and advances our
understanding of the impact of grazing on the spatial variation of
biogeochemical cycling in shrub-encroached grasslands.