These problems have greatly reduced the benefits of straw return.Įarthworms are one of the most common soil animals in terrestrial ecosystems.

Therefore, if excessive amounts of straw are returned to the field, its slow rate of decomposition will lead to poor germination, poor seedling growth, and increased incidence of soil-borne diseases ( Prasad et al., 2016). These findings not only suggest that fungi play an important role in the degradation of returned straw but also show that it is a protracted process ( Lu et al., 2015). (1993) showed that fungi play a dominant role in the degradation of returned straw, especially in the early stages of plant decomposition when fungi are more active than bacteria and actinomycetes. Soil fungi excrete a comprehensive set of enzymes that allow them to degrade returned straw and thus play an important role in its recycling ( Mitchell and Zuccaro, 2006). Recent research shows that straw return leads to significant changes in the structure and diversity of the soil bacterial ecosystem ( Fu et al., 2012 Sun et al., 2013). It especially increases the proportions of fungi and bacteria ( Frey et al., 2003), thus changing the soil microbial community structure ( Baumann et al., 2009).

At the same time, straw return provides abundant carbon for soil microorganisms, thus promoting their growth and activity. As the main sources of cellulase and ligninase, soil microbes play an important role in the degradation of straw ( Rui et al., 2009). This practice can improve soil structure, increase porosity, reduce bulk density, increase biodiversity, and diversify nutrient supply ( Song et al., 2019). Straw return is an important method for increasing soil organic matter in farmland ecosystems ( Benbi and Senapati, 2010).

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