Fig. 7

Structural equation model showing the potential direct and indirect effects of soil variables and bacterial and fungal diversities on sunflower yield. Correlation between yield and each indicator (a): red represents positive correlation, blue represents negative correlation, and the width of the arrow is proportional to the strength of the path coefficient; random forest increment represents the main driver of yield increase (b), blue represents the correlation reaching a significant level, and gray represents the difference not reaching a significant level; direct, indirect, and total effects of yield contribution (c). *P < 0.05.