Abstract:[Background] As the largest inland basin in China, the Tarim Basin is a natural laboratory for studying the responses of bacterial communities to the environment on a local scale. Although researchers have studied the bacterial diversity in the Tarim Basin, few of them have studied the diversity and distribution pattern of bacterial communities in plant habitats of the Tarim Basin. [Objective] This study investigated and analyzed the diversity and distribution pattern of bacterial communities in plant habitats in the Tarim Basin, laying the foundation for subsequent research on bacterial ecology in the region. [Methods] We conducted a large-scale and systematic field survey and sampling of the soil in a plant habitat of the Tarim Basin to analyze the bacterial community structure and diversity. Furthermore, we explored the changes of soil bacterial diversity and community spatial pattern along geographic and climatic gradients on a large scale and the assembly process of phylogenetic groups at the continental level. [Results] The species composition, network structures, and assembly processes of bacterial communities showed significant differences between the plant habitat and the desert habitat. Notably, the soil bacterial communities in the plant habitat showed greater stability and complexity than those in the desert habitat. The null model analysis showed that heterogeneous selection and diffusion limitation were the key ecological processes in the bacterial community assembly. [Conclusion] This study reveals the diversity and driving factors of soil bacterial communities in three habitats of the Tarim Basin. The findings provide data and research basis for understanding the safety and stability of ecosystems in the arid zone in the context of global change and give insights into the fragility and assembly processes of plant habitat ecosystems in arid zones.
