Intercropping has been shown to increase the productivity of agroecosystems, but the belowground mechanisms for this have not been well elucidated. The soil microbial community produces extracellular enzymes that are responsible for degrading plant residues and maintaining nutrient cycles in the soil. While the effects of plant diversity on enzyme activities have been studied, the results are often highly variable, both within and between studies. Therefore, to determine whether intercropping enhances nutrient cycling by increasing extracellular enzyme activity and to identify sources of variation in enzyme rates, we performed a meta-analysis drawing on 969 observations across 100 studies from around the world. We find that intercropping significantly increases enzyme activities by an average of 13% (P < 0.001) and that the intercropping effect varies by enzyme category, the type of plant used as the main crop or intercrop, and other experimental and environmental factors. Increased quantity and quality of plant residue inputs is a likely driver of the intercropping effect. The larger intercropping effect on increasing enzyme activity in nutrient-poor soils, together with differences between plant types, supports the view that soil nutrient status mediates patterns of microbial nutrient acquisition strategies. Future research should be aimed towards capturing regional variation within North American and Europe and towards identifying the specific drivers of the microbial response to increased plant diversity.

间作已被证明可以提高农业生态系统的生产力，但是其地下机制尚未得到很好的阐明。土壤微生物群落产生细胞外酶，这些酶负责降解植物残留物并维持土壤中的养分循环。虽然已经研究了植物多样性对酶活性的影响，但在研究内部和研究之间，结果往往变化很大。因此，为了确定间作是否通过增加细胞外酶的活性来增强营养循环，并确定酶速率的变化来源，我们对来自全球100项研究的969项观察进行了荟萃分析。我们发现间作显着提高了平均13％的酶活性（P <0。001），并且间作效果因酶类别，用作主要农作物或间作的植物类型以及其他实验和环境因素而异。植物残渣输入量和质量的增加可能是间作效应的驱动因素。间作对增加养分贫乏土壤中酶活性的作用以及植物类型之间的差异，支持了以下观点：土壤养分状况介导了微生物养分获取策略的模式。未来的研究应旨在捕捉北美和欧洲内部的区域差异，并确定微生物对增加植物多样性的反应的具体驱动因素。植物残渣输入量和质量的增加可能是间作效应的驱动因素。间作对增加养分贫乏土壤中酶活性的作用以及植物类型之间的差异，支持了以下观点：土壤养分状况介导了微生物养分获取策略的模式。未来的研究应旨在捕捉北美和欧洲内部的区域差异，并确定微生物对增加的植物多样性的反应的具体驱动因素。植物残渣输入量和质量的增加可能是间作效应的驱动因素。间作对增加养分贫乏土壤中酶活性的作用以及植物类型之间的差异，支持了以下观点：土壤养分状况介导了微生物养分获取策略的模式。未来的研究应旨在捕捉北美和欧洲内部的区域差异，并确定微生物对增加植物多样性的反应的具体驱动因素。支持土壤养分状况介导微生物养分获取策略模式的观点。未来的研究应旨在捕捉北美和欧洲内部的区域差异，并确定微生物对增加植物多样性的反应的具体驱动因素。支持土壤养分状况介导微生物养分获取策略模式的观点。未来的研究应旨在捕捉北美和欧洲内部的区域差异，并确定微生物对增加植物多样性的反应的具体驱动因素。