Structure of grassland communities was investigated, and performance of populations of Themeda triandra var. japonica and Miscanthus sinensis were compared on limestone and granite soils. Forty three and forty taxa occurred on the limestone and granite grasslands, respectively, but their similarity was very low. Shoot height and number of hills per patch, as a measure of performance, of Themeda on the limestone grassland were higherthan those on the granite grassland. In contrast, shoot height and number on hills per patch of Miscanthus were higher on limestone than granite grassland. Evidence shows that poor growth of Micanthus population on the limestone soil was associated with higher content of insoluble divalent cations than soluble ones in shoot tissue.