FIG 5.

Partial least-squares path modeling (PLS_PM) was used to estimate the direct and indirect effects of climatic, plant, and soil properties on nirK-type and nirS-type denitrifier communities. The width of an arrow represents the strength of the path coefficient. Continuous and dashed arrows indicate significant and nonsignificant path coefficients, respectively. PCNM1, principal component of neighbor matrices, representing geographical distance; MAT, mean annual temperature; PR, plant richness; TN, total nitrogen; Cond, conductivity. DBH represents the total diameter at breast height. DB represents the percentage of total DBH accounted for by deciduous broadleaf trees.