The Arctic is warming at a rate four times the global average, while also being exposed to other global environmental changes, resulting in widespread vegetation and ecosystem change. Integrating functional trait-based approaches with multi-level vegetation, ecosystem, and landscape data enables a holistic understanding of the drivers and consequences of these changes. In two High Arctic study systems near Longyearbyen, Svalbard, a 20-year ITEX warming experiment and elevational gradients with and without nutrient input from nesting seabirds, we collected data on vegetation composition and structure, plant functional traits, ecosystem fluxes, multispectral remote sensing, and microclimate. The dataset contains 1,962 plant records and 16,160 trait measurements from 34 vascular plant taxa, for 9 of which these are the first published trait data. By integrating these comprehensive data, we bridge knowledge gaps and expand trait data coverage, including on intraspecific trait variation. These data can offer insights into ecosystem functioning and provide baselines to assess climate and environmental change impacts. Such knowledge is crucial for effective conservation and management in these vulnerable regions.

Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research University of Bergen Bergen Norway

Department of Biological Sciences University of Bergen Bergen Norway

Department of Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins USA

Department of Biology University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark

Department of Botany Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Botany University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson USA

Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management University of California Berkeley Berkeley USA

Department of Ethnobotany University of Alaska Fairbanks Canada

Department of Health and Environmental Sciences Xi'an Jiaotong Liverpool University Suzhou China

Department of Physical Geography Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden

Department of Plant Sciences University of Cambridge Cambridge United Kingdom

Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås Norway

Geography Research Unit University of Oulu Oulu Finland

Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder USA

Life and Environmental Sciences University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland

NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research Bergen Norway

School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford Oxford UK

School of Geography Development and Environment University of Arizona Tucson USA

Section of Botany Carnegie Museum of Natural History Pittsburgh USA

Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco Cusco Perú

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Plant trait and vegetation data along a 1314 m elevation gradient with fire history in Puna grasslands, Perú