BackgroundExtensive research confirms soil viruses play key roles in microbial communities and biogeochemical cycles. Yet, understanding of soil viruses in agroecosystems remains limited under changing climate.MethodsUsing field experiments and metagenomics, we investigated the effects of warming, precipitation changes, and their interactions on soil viral communities in dryland wheat fields.ResultsThe interaction between warming and reduced precipitation significantly decreased the alpha diversity of the viral community and substantially altered its composition. Warming combined with precipitation changes altered the dominant viral taxa and reshaped viral-bacterial interaction patterns. Warming and precipitation changes significantly altered the ecological functions of viruses in regulating host microbial metabolism and soil nutrient cycling. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the virus-encoded nirK gene was likely derived from an archaeal host via horizontal gene transfer. Under the combined effects of climate warming and reduced precipitation, the relative abundance of the nirK gene in the viral community decreased significantly, while the relative abundance of the sulfur assimilation gene cysE increased significantly. Furthermore, soil viruses mediated bacterial community responses to climate change.ConclusionThe combined effects of warming and reduced precipitation have profoundly influenced soil viral communities, diversity, composition, interaction patterns, and ecological functions. These changes, in turn, affect bacterial communities and soil nutrient cycling, thereby potentially influencing plant growth and broader ecosystem processes.