Enhanced Soybean Growth and the Associated Ion Balance, Nutrient Accumulation, and Rhizosphere Bacterial Community When Intercropped with <i>Suaeda salsa</i> in Saline Soils

Halophyte-based desalinization is emerging as a promising technology for saline agriculture. However, few studies have integrated halophytes into intercropping systems. This study investigated <i>Suaeda salsa</i> and soybean intercropping and the associated mechanisms, including changes in salt, nutrients, and bacterial communities at three salt treatments (control, 3‰, and 5‰). The results showed that regardless of salt treatment, soybean biomass and P content significantly increased in intercropping compared with monocropping, by an average of 32% and 51%, respectively (<i>p</i> < 0.05), indicating interspecific facilitation. Under 5‰ salt, soybean mortality decreased from 37% in monocropping to 10% in intercropping, and shoot Na decreased by over 60% in intercropping; the rhizosphere Na⁺, Cl⁻, and NO₃⁻–N decreased in intercropping by over 75% compared with monocropping, and the response ratios correlated negatively with <i>S. salsa</i> biomass (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The soybean rhizosphere bacterial community in intercropping was enriched with the genera <i>Sphingomonas</i>, <i>Salinimicrobium</i>, <i>Lysobacter</i>, <i>Allorhizobium</i>–<i>Neorhizobium</i>–<i>Pararhizobium</i>–<i>Rhizobium</i>, and <i>Ramlibacter</i>, and the bacterial co-occurrence network exhibited increases in the number of nodes and edges, average degree, and average clustering coefficient. Considering the combined effects, the soybean biomass of intercropping correlated positively with bacterial co-occurrence network parameters, including average degree and number of edges, independent of tissue salt and nutrient content, and that of monocropping correlated negatively with tissue salt content. These results demonstrate that <i>S. salsa</i> intercropping could alleviate salt stress in soybean by creating a low-salt environment and improving its nutrient accumulation and rhizosphere bacterial community, and emphasize the importance of microbial communities in influencing soybean growth.