<![CDATA[Rubber-based intercropping may modify soil bacterial communities through changes in vegetation cover, root inputs and soil chemistry. This comparative observational study evaluated bacterial-community profiles in rubber–canna (Hevea brasiliensis–Canna indica) intercropping and rubber monoculture plots at PTPN VIII, Subang, West Java. Three spatial soil subsamples per system were collected from 0–20 cm depth. Community DNA was extracted from 0.25 g soil, near-full-length 16S rRNA genes were amplified with 27F/1492R primers and amplicons were sequenced using Oxford Nanopore GridION. Reads were profiled using a Centrifuge/Krona read-based workflow. Shannon diversity was higher in intercropping than monoculture (5.00 ± 0.16 versus 4.78 ± 0.21), whereas Chao1 richness was lower (1575.8 ± 145.8 versus 1778.8 ± 223.6), exploratory Mann–Whitney tests were not significant. The systems shared 2,221 classified taxonomic units, with 531 units only in intercropping and 375 only in monoculture. Proteobacteria relative abundance was higher in intercropping (49%) than monoculture (27%). Soil organic C, total N, available P, Mg and Ca were also descriptively higher in intercropping. These findings indicate contrasting plot-level bacterial and soil-chemical profiles, but independent plot replication and functional validation are needed before causal conclusions are made.]]>
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