INTRODUCTION: Incorporating straw into the soil is a sustainable practice that can mitigate some of the adverse effects of excessive N fertilization on soil structure degradation and microbial diversity reduction. METHODS: This objective of this study was to determine the combined effects of straw management (straw return and straw removal) and N fertilization (0, 360, 450, 540, 630, and 720 kg N ha RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results showed that moderate N application (N450-N540) with straw return optimized wheat (283.5 kg ha