Fig. 6

Box plots of the four most important variables identified by the SHAP summary plot across the six clusters. (a) Distribution of “Microbial_Biomass” values across clusters, showing that Clusters 4 and 6 have significantly higher values. (b) The distribution of “Bacteria Positive” values shows that Clusters 4 and 6 exhibit higher levels. (c) and (d) display the distributions for “Alkane” and “SOC” (Soil Organic Carbon), respectively, highlighting differences in these key variables across the identified clusters. These higher values in Clusters 4 and 6 are associated with an increased probability of transitioning to high Q₁₀ soils.