Fig. 3

Bacterial co-occurrence networks of fresh WCC and WCC silage. Bacterial co-occurrence networks of FM (A), CON (B), LS (C), and WA (D). Node represents bacterial species, node color represents bacterial phylum, and node size represents relative abundance. Edges are colored according to negative (green) and positive (red) correlations. E–H Elliptic scatter plots of node-level topological features (closeness centrality and mean degree or closeness centrality and betweenness centrality) in four co-occurrence networks. I Bar plots of nude and edge numbers, respectively. J Bar plots of correlation number and negative/positive ratio. K Overall comparison of the mean degree before and after ensiling or among three treatments. The line within the boxplot represents medians, the tops and bottoms of the boxplot represent 25th and 75th percentiles, and lines extend to 1.5 × inter-quartile ranges. The statistical analysis was conducted using a two-sided t-test. P-value is indicated by ***P < 0.001, and by *P < 0.05. FM, fresh WCC; CON, control (WCC treated with distilled water); LS, WCC inoculated with Lc. lactis, WA, WCC inoculated with W. confusa