Effects of the combined compost of grape branches and sheep manure on a soil-microorganism-chardonnay (Vitis vinifera L.) plant ecosystem

•The difference in microbial community depends on the abundance of dominant bacteria.•Biotic factors are the most important factor affecting the microbial community.•Compared with fungal, soil environmental factors have a greater impact on bacterial.•Soil biotic factors, abiotic factors, and microorganisms interact with each other.•The combined compost can achieve the effect that can't be achieved respectively. A low-cost and sustainable composting strategy of grape branches and sheep manure is needed for vineyards. This study investigated the response of soil and grape plant characteristics to the compost, detected the changes in soil microbial community by high-throughput sequencing, and analyzed the relationship between soil microorganisms and soil characteristics and grape plant characteristics. The BM55 (1:1 grapevine branch to sheep manure by volume) group was the most effective treatment for increasing soil nutrients and enzyme activities. The BM3711Abbreviations: CK, Control check; GB, 100 % Grape branches; BM73, 70 % grape branches and 30 % sheep manure; BM55, 50 % grape branches and 50 % sheep manure; BM37, 30 % grape branches and 70 % sheep manure; SM, 100 % Sheep manure; Bd, Bulk density; Fc, Field capacity; EC, Electric conductivity; OM, Organic carbon; TC, Total C; TN, Total N; NO3, NO3--N; NH4, NH4+-N; OP, Olsen-P; AK, Available K, S-AKP/ALP, Soil alkaline phosphatase; S-CAT, Soil catalase; S-UE, Soil urease; S-SC, Soil sucrase. SS, Soluble solids; TA, Titratable acid; Ci, Intercellular CO2 concentration; Tr, Transpiration rate; Gs, Stomatal conductance; Pn, Net photosynthetic rate; SPAD, Chlorophyll content. (3:7 vol ratio of grapevine branches to sheep manure) treatment was the most effective in increasing fruit yield and quality. The dominant species of bacteria (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota) did not change but their relative abundance changed. Redundancy analysis showed that the soil biotic factors, abiotic factors, and microorganisms interact to form a complex relationship, in which biotic factors were the key factors influencing the composition and abundance of microbial communities, and the bacterial community was more sensitive than the fungal community. The combined composting stimulated microorganisms to participate in the synthesis and circulation of soil nutrients, which was not achieved by returning to the field respectively. Therefore, the combined composting is an effective way t