Soil functions are amplified along increasing planting densities via nutrient trade-off driven by rhizobacteria in drought-prone environment

It is unclear how plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) affect soil multifunctionality (SMF) and production function (SPF) along planting densities. To address this issue, Bacillus licheniformis (PGPR) was inoculated in maize fields with five planting densities (D1–D5 from low to high) in the drought-prone region of the Yunnan Plateau, southwest China, from 2022 to 2023. Data indicated that under non-inoculation (CK), SMF tended to increase from D1 to D4 (p<0.05) and then stabilize in D5 across two growing seasons. Yet, SPF was observed to elevate steadily with increasing densities. PGPR inoculation significantly improved SMF (0.129) and SPF (0.508) under increasing planting densities. Meanwhile, soil carbon and phosphorus cycling indices significantly improved by 0.272 and 0.069 (p<0.05), respectively, whereas no significant change was observed in the nitrogen cycling index (p>0.05), relative to CK. Increased carbon cycling index was significantly associated with improve..., , # Data from: Soil functions are amplified along increasing planting densities via nutrient trade-off driven by rhizobacteria in drought-prone environment

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8dv](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t76hdr8dv)

## Description of the data and file structure

During harvest in both maize growing seasons, destructive sampling was performed in every plot, and three soil cores per plot were pooled to create a composite sample. For the first set, rhizosphere soil adhering to fresh maize roots at a depth of approximately 20 cm was gently brushed off with sterile fine nylon brushes and tweezers. All samples were immediately placed in a portable low-temperature freezer and subsequently transferred to a laboratory freezer for storage. Soil bacterial community samples were preserved at –80 °C for two weeks. In parallel, samples for the determination of soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen and enzyme activities were stored at –20 °C for one week to ensure sample stabi...,