Diversity of fungi and bacteria in species-rich grasslands increases with plant diversity in shoots but not in roots and soil.

Microbial communities in roots and shoots of plants and in soil are important for plant growth and health and take part in important ecosystem processes. Therefore, understanding the factors that affect their diversity is important. We have analyzed fungal and bacterial communities associated with plant shoots, roots and soil over a 1 km2 area in a semi-natural temperate grassland with 1-43 plant species per 0.