Plant communities are composed of species that differ both in functional traits and evolutionary histories. As species' functional traits partly result from their individual evolutionary history, we expect the functional diversity of communities to increase with increasing phylogenetic diversity. This expectation has only been tested at local scales and generally for specific growth forms or specific habitat types, for example, grasslands. Here we compare standardized effect sizes for functional and phylogenetic diversity among 1,781,836 vegetation plots using the global sPlot database. In contrast to expectations, we find functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity to be only weakly and negatively correlated, implying a decoupling between these two facets of diversity. While phylogenetic diversity is higher in forests and reflects recent climatic conditions (1981 to 2010), functional diversity tends to reflect recent and past climatic conditions (21,000 years ago). The independent nature of functional and phylogenetic diversity makes it crucial to consider both aspects of diversity when analysing ecosystem functioning and prioritizing conservation efforts.

Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research Department of Disturbance Ecology University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany

Bell Musuem University of Minnesota St Paul MN USA

Biodiversity Research Center Faculty of Health Natural Resources and Applied Sciences Namibia University of Science and Technology Windhoek Namibia

Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden

Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Siena Siena Italy

Botany and Microbiology Department College of Science King Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia

Botany Lab Universidad San Pablo CEU CEU Universities Madrid Spain

Branch of the M 5 Keldysh IAM RAS IMPB RAS Pushchino Russia

CEFE CNRS EPHE IRD University Montpellier Montpellier France

Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere Department of Biology Aarhus University Aarhus C Denmark

CIRAD UPR Forêts et Sociétés Campus de Baillarguet Montpellier France

Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ Quito Ecuador

College of Ecology and Environmental Science Institute of Ecology and Geobotany Yunnan University University Town China

College of Urban and Environmental Sciences Department of Ecology Peking University Beijing China

Department of Biodiversity Macroecology and Biogeography University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany

Department of Biological Geological and Environmental Sciences University of Bologna Bologna Italy

Department of Biology Santa Clara University Santa Clara CA USA

Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Botany University of Wisconsin Madison Madison WI USA

Department of Ecology Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegro Brazil

Department of Ecoscience Aarhus University Aarhus C Denmark

Department of Environment Ghent University Gent Belgium

Department of Environmental Biology Sapienza University of Rome Rome Italy

Department of Environmental Sciences College of Science and Engineering University of Derby Derby UK

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies Stellenbosch University Matieland South Africa

Department of Plant Biology and Ecology University of the Basque Country UPV EHU Bilbao Spain

Department of Vegetation and Phytodiversity Analysis University of Göttingen Göttingen Germany

Escuela ECAPMA Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia Bogotá Colombia

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering University of Zagreb Varaždin Croatia

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Leipzig Germany

Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre Gothenburg Sweden

Great Lakes Forestry Centre Canadian Forest Service Sault Ste Marie Ontario Canada

Harry Butler Institute Perth Western Australia Australia

Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology Faculty of Biology and Geology Babeș Bolyai University Cluj Napoca Romania

Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat Departament de Biologia Evolutiva Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain

Institute of Biology Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics University of Ss Cyril and Methodius Skopje North Macedonia

Institute of Biology Geobotany and Botanical Garden Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg Halle Germany

Institute of Botany Czech Academy of Science Trebon Czechia

Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary

Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin Samara Federal Research Scientific Center Togliatti Russia

Institute of Ecology School of Sustainability Leuphana University of Lüneburg Lüneburg Germany

Institute of Plant Science and Microbiology University of Hamburg Hamburg Germany

Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Ljubljana Slovenia

Marquette University Milwaukee WI USA

Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena Germany

MINES Paris PSL ISIGE Fontainebleau France

Palmengarten der Stadt Frankfurt Germany

Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group Environmental Sciences Department Wageningen University Wageningen the Netherlands

Resource Management HAWK Goettingen Goettingen Germany

Sanya Nanfan Research Institute Hainan University Sanya China

School for Viticulture and Enology University of Nova Gorica Nova Gorica Slovenia

Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt and Department Botany and Molecular Evolution Goethe University Frankfurt Germany

Systematic and Evolutionary Botany University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland

The School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Glen Osmond South Australia Australia

UMR CNRS 7058 Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés Université de Picardie Jules Verne Amiens France

Universidade Regional de Blumenau Blumenau Brazil

University Montpellier Montpellier France

University of Leeds Leeds UK

University of Nottingham Nottingham UK

University of Rostock Rostock Germany

Zurich University of Applied Sciences Wädenswil Switzerland

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