Playing hide and seek below the soil

Below the soil of a diverse grassland area you'll find a jungle of plant roots. It is also home to a wide variety of bacteria and fungi, of which some are pathogenic and looking for a host in the tangle of roots. It appears that this is much more difficult when there is a larger diversity of plants as the host plant is more able to hide among the varied crowd. Greater plant diversity therefore results in fewer diseased plants and more productivity. Personal professor in Plant Ecology Liesje Momm