Soil bacterial networks are less stable under drought than fungal networks. A study using grassland mesocosms found that drought promotes destabilizing properties in bacterial co-occurrence networks but not in fungal ones. Bacterial communities showed stronger responses to drought, with changes in their networks more strongly linked to soil functioning during recovery than fungal changes. Drought had prolonged effects on bacterial communities through changes in vegetation composition and soil moisture. The study highlights the importance of understanding how microbial networks respond to climate extremes, as changes in these networks can affect ecosystem functioning and plant community composition. Bacterial and fungal communities were significantly affected by drought, with fungal richness and evenness increasing during drought and rapidly recovering, while bacterial richness and evenness decreased and persisted for longer. Bacterial networks showed stronger interactions and more negative correlations than fungal networks, and drought reduced the proportion of negative correlations in bacterial networks. Bacterial co-occurrence networks were larger, more connected, and less modular than fungal networks. Drought increased the connectedness and centrality of nodes in bacterial networks but decreased these properties in fungal networks. Drought caused a shift in plant community composition, with the fast-growing grass Dactylis glomerata dominating. This shift was strongly associated with bacterial networks and communities, and the resilience of bacterial communities was linked to the resilience of plant communities. The study also found that drought increased the abundance of denitrifier genes and nitrous oxide reduction genes, which could affect soil functioning. The results suggest that bacterial communities are more vulnerable to drought than fungal communities, and that changes in vegetation can have long-lasting effects on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functioning. The findings have important implications for understanding how soil microbial communities respond to climate extremes and other disturbances.Soil bacterial networks are less stable under drought than fungal networks. A study using grassland mesocosms found that drought promotes destabilizing properties in bacterial co-occurrence networks but not in fungal ones. Bacterial communities showed stronger responses to drought, with changes in their networks more strongly linked to soil functioning during recovery than fungal changes. Drought had prolonged effects on bacterial communities through changes in vegetation composition and soil moisture. The study highlights the importance of understanding how microbial networks respond to climate extremes, as changes in these networks can affect ecosystem functioning and plant community composition. Bacterial and fungal communities were significantly affected by drought, with fungal richness and evenness increasing during drought and rapidly recovering, while bacterial richness and evenness decreased and persisted for longer. Bacterial networks showed stronger interactions and more negative correlations than fungal networks, and drought reduced the proportion of negative correlations in bacterial networks. Bacterial co-occurrence networks were larger, more connected, and less modular than fungal networks. Drought increased the connectedness and centrality of nodes in bacterial networks but decreased these properties in fungal networks. Drought caused a shift in plant community composition, with the fast-growing grass Dactylis glomerata dominating. This shift was strongly associated with bacterial networks and communities, and the resilience of bacterial communities was linked to the resilience of plant communities. The study also found that drought increased the abundance of denitrifier genes and nitrous oxide reduction genes, which could affect soil functioning. The results suggest that bacterial communities are more vulnerable to drought than fungal communities, and that changes in vegetation can have long-lasting effects on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functioning. The findings have important implications for understanding how soil microbial communities respond to climate extremes and other disturbances.