Plant growth and soil microbial community structure of legumes and grasses grown in monoculture or mixture

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of soil moisture content on plant growth and the rhizosphere microbial community structure of four plant species (white clover, alfalfa, sudan grass, tall fescue), grown individually or in a mixture. The soil moisture content was adjusted to 55% or 80% water holding capacity (WHC). The results indicated that the total plant biomass of one pot was lower at 55% WHC. At a given soil moisture, the total plant biomass of white clover and tall fescue in the mixture was lower than that in a monoculture, indicating their poor competitiveness. For leguminous plants, the decrease in soil moisture reduced the total microbial biomass, bacterial biomass, fungal biomass, and fungal/bacterial ratio in soil as assessed by the phospholipid fatty acid analysis, whereas, lower soil moisture increased those parameters in the tall fescue. The microbial biomass in the soil with legumes was higher than that in the soil with grasses and the two plant groups differed in soil microbial community composition. At high soil moisture content, microbial communities of the plant mixture were similar to those of the legume monoculture, and the existence of legumes in the mixture enhanced the bacterial and fungal biomass in the soil compared to the grasses grown in the monoculture, indicating that legumes played a dominant role in the soil microbial community changes in the plant mixture.