Dung beetles have been used to enhance soil health and crop growth and yields, but their effects on soil enzymology and microbial diversity are seldom reported. The present work reports on beneficial effects of dung beetles on soil enzyme activity, bacterial diversity and growth and antioxidant content of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis). The soil amended with cow dung only (CD), or with dung broken down by dung beetles (DB), was compared with untreated control (CO). Soil bacterial diversity was determined through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and enzymological tests were used for soil enzyme activity. Dung beetles significantly increased acid phosphatase, urease, cellulase, catalase and β-glucosidase activities in the soil compared with CD or control. Bacterial alpha-diversity significantly increased in DB when compared with CD or control. Microbial carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) were significantly higher in DB than in CD and in CD than control. The DB and CD treatments also significantly enhanced plant growth and the content of antioxidants (total flavonoids, polyphenols and vitamin C) and phytohormones indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), trans-zeatin riboside (ZR) and gibberellic acid (GA₃) compared with control, while a significant reduction was noted in abscisic acid (ABA) in DB compared with CD or control plants. Correlation analysis confirmed that the enzyme activities are pH dependent, as pH was significantly lowered by DB compared with CD or control. Our results suggest that use of dung beetles in conventional practices could be an effective strategy to improve soil nutrient availability and microbial activity and antioxidant content of Chinese cabbage.

蜣螂已被用于增强土壤健康和作物生长和产量，但很少报道它们对土壤酶学和微生物多样性的影响。目前的工作报告了蜣螂对大白菜 ( Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis)土壤酶活性、细菌多样性以及生长和抗氧化含量的有益影响。）。将仅用牛粪 (CD) 或被蜣螂 (DB) 分解的粪便改良的土壤与未处理的对照 (CO) 进行比较。通过16S rRNA基因测序确定土壤细菌多样性，并对土壤酶活性进行酶学检测。与 CD 或对照相比，粪甲虫显着增加了土壤中酸性磷酸酶、脲酶、纤维素酶、过氧化氢酶和 β-葡萄糖苷酶的活性。与 CD 或对照相比，DB 中的细菌 α 多样性显着增加。DB中的微生物碳（C）和氮（N）显着高于CD，CD中的微生物碳（C）和氮（N）显着高于对照。DB 和 CD 处理还显着增强了植物生长和抗氧化剂（总黄酮、多酚和维生素 C）和植物激素吲哚-3-乙酸（IAA）的含量，反式玉米素核苷 (ZR) 和赤霉酸 (GA ₃ ) 与对照相比，而与 CD 或对照植物相比，DB 中的脱落酸 (ABA) 显着减少。相关性分析证实酶活性是 pH 依赖性的，因为与 CD 或对照相比，DB 显着降低了 pH。我们的研究结果表明，在常规实践中使用蜣螂可能是提高大白菜土壤养分有效性、微生物活性和抗氧化剂含量的有效策略。