Meta-analysis shows positive effects of plant diversity on microbial biomass and respiration

Soil microorganisms are key to biological diversity and many ecosystem processes in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite the current alarming loss of plant diversity, it is unclear how plant species diversity affects soil microorganisms. By conducting a global meta-analysis with paired observations of plant mixtures and monocultures from 106 studies, we show that microbial biomass, bacterial biomass, fungal biomass, fungi:bacteria ratio, and microbial respiration increase, while Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacteria ratio decrease in response to plant mixtures. The increases in microbial biomass and respiration are more pronounced in older and more diverse mixtures. The effects of plant mixtures on all microbial…

• NS
  National Science Foundation
• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 31625007
• NS
  Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

  Awards: RGPIN-2014, STPGP506284, RGPIN-2014-04181, RTI-2017-00358, STPGP428641