Fig. 3.

Effects of K₂CO₃ on rumen microbial community structure. (A) Alpha diversity indices. (B) Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) plot based on the Bray–Curtis metric. The distribution of major bacterial phyla (C) and archaeal phyla (D) based on relative abundance, with significant Kruskal–Wallis test results. The asterisks mean statistically significant difference: ∗P-value <0.05. CON, the control group (basal diet); LD, the low dose group (basal diet + 250 g/d K₂CO₃·1.5H₂O per head); MD, the medium dose group (basal diet + 500 g/d K₂CO₃·1.5H₂O per head); HD, the high dose group (basal diet + 750 g/d K₂CO₃·1.5H₂O per head).