Straw return can increase maize yield by regulating soil bacteria and improving soil properties in arid and semi-arid areas

Straw return into soil has been found to benefit soil fertility and crop yield. However, the effects of straw return amount on crop yield and soil bacterial community under maize continuous cropping systems in arid and semi-arid areas remain obscure. Here, a 6-year field experiment was established with five straw return amounts (T0, T1, T2, T3, and T4, representing 0, 3,000, 6,000, 9,000, and 12,000 kg ha-1 of straw, respectively), and investigated the effects of on soil nutrients, enzymes, bacterial communities, and crop yield.