Habitat-specific trends in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity in European plant communities during the last 100 years

Despite widespread concern over global biodiversity change 1,2, the gains and losses at local plant communities remain contentious 3–5, primarily due to the lack of integrative, large-scale analyses across different habitats and multiple facets of plant diversity. Here, we analysed 55,975 vegetation time series across Europe to quantify the general and habitat-specific trends in taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic plant diversity, alongside changes in Red List species and European species pools. We found that, over the last 100 years, plant communities have gained 0.15 species year-1, accompanied by increases in Faith’s phylogenetic diversity and decreases in functional trait evenness. Local diversity trends were strongest in disturbed wetland and disturbed forest communities and varied substantially by habitat type, habitat-change trajectory (classified as stable, successional, or disturbed), and the year of the last observation in a time series – which collectively explained 2–24% of the observed variation. Species pool richness increased most in disturbed grassland and in successional sparsely-vegetated and man-made habitats but was otherwise stable. By accounting for the ecological context and the multiple facets of plant diversity, our findings provide a more nuanced understanding that is necessary to reconcile some of the conflicting narratives of local biodiversity change.