Data from: Root biomass and exudates link plant diversity with soil bacterial and fungal biomass

Plant diversity has been shown to determine the composition and
functioning of soil biota. Although root-derived organic inputs are
discussed as the main drivers of soil communities, experimental evidence
is scarce. While there is some evidence that higher root biomass at high
plant diversity increases substrate availability for soil biota, several
studies have speculated that the quantity and diversity of root inputs
into the soil, i.e. though root exudates, drive plant diversity effects on
soil biota. Here we used a microcosm experiment to study the role of plant
species richness on the biomass of soil bacteria and fungi as well as
fungal-to-bacterial ratio via root biomass and root exudates. Plant
diversity significantly increased shoot biomass, root biomass, the amount
of root exudates, bacterial biomass, and fungal biomass. Fungal biomass
increased most with increasing plant diversity resulting in a significant
shift in the fungal-to-bacterial biomass ratio at high plant diversity.
Fungal biomass increased significantly with plant diversity-induced
increases in root biomass and the amount of root exudates. These results
suggest that plant diversity enhances soil microbial biomass, particularly
soil fungi, by increasing root-derived organic inputs.