Variability among rooting systems and sward cover of plant species, leads to differences in their effects on overall productivity,stability of soil, microbial processes (White et al., 2013) and the soil food web itself. For example, perennial ryegrass has a shallow but extensive rooting system that is highly branched and produces fine adventitious roots, whereas chicory and (to a lesser extent) red clover produce deep tap roots that have the potential to ‘mine’ deep soil resources that are inaccessible to other shallower rooting plants (Belesky et al., 2001).