The Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average1 and plant communities are responding through shifts in species abundance, composition and distribution2-4. However, the direction and magnitude of local changes in plant diversity in the Arctic have not been quantified. Using a compilation of 42,234 records of 490 vascular plant species from 2,174 plots across the Arctic, here we quantified temporal changes in species richness and composition through repeat surveys between 1981 and 2022. We also identified the geographical, climatic and biotic drivers behind these changes. We found greater species richness at lower latitudes and warmer sites, but no indication that, on average, species richness had changed directionally over time. However, species turnover was widespread, with 59% of plots gaining and/or losing species. Proportions of species gains and losses were greater where temperatures had increased the most. Shrub expansion, particularly of erect shrubs, was associated with greater species losses and decreasing species richness. Despite changes in plant composition, Arctic plant communities did not become more similar to each other, suggesting no biotic homogenization so far. Overall, Arctic plant communities changed in richness and composition in different directions, with temperature and plant-plant interactions emerging as the main drivers of change. Our findings demonstrate how climate and biotic drivers can act in concert to alter plant composition, which could precede future biodiversity changes that are likely to affect ecosystem function, wildlife habitats and the livelihoods of Arctic peoples5,6.

Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment Amsterdam The Netherlands

Arctic Centre University of Lapland Rovaniemi Finland

Arctic Research Center Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark

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

Bayreuth Center of Sport Science University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany

Biodiversity Ecology and Conservation Group International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis Laxenburg Austria

Biology Department Grand Valley State University Allendale MI USA

Botanical Institute of Barcelona Barcelona Spain

Centre d'Études Nordiques Department of Biology University of Moncton Moncton New Brunswick Canada

Centre de recherche sur la dynamique du système Terre Université du Québec à Montréal Montreal Quebec Canada

Chair of Biodiversity and Nature Tourism Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Estonian University of Life Sciences Tartu Estonia

Climate Change Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Centre Davos Switzerland

Département de Biologie Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke Quebec Canada

Department of Arctic and Marine Biology Faculty of Biosciences Fisheries and Economics UiT The Arctic University of Norway Tromsø Norway

Department of Arctic Biology University Centre in Svalbard Longyearbyen Norway

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden

Department of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso El Paso TX USA

Department of Biology Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark

Department of Biology University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark

Department of Biology University of Waterloo Waterloo Ontario Canada

Department of Earth Sciences University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden

Department of Ecoscience Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark

Department of Ecoscience Aarhus University Roskilde Denmark

Department of Electronics Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development University of Gävle Gävle Sweden

Department of Environment and Mineral Resources Greenland Institute of Natural Resources Nuuk Greenland

Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences University of Eastern Finland Joensuu Finland

Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland

Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences Faculty of Forestry University of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada

Department of Forest Resources University of Minnesota St Paul MN USA

Department of Geography and Planning School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK

Department of Geography University of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada

Department of Geography University of Victoria Victoria British Columbia Canada

Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health University of South Eastern Norway Bø Norway

Department of Wildland Resources Quinney College of Natural Resources and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan UT USA

Department of Wildlife Fish and Conservation Biology University of California Davis Davis CA USA

Ecology and Global Change School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK

Environmental Science Center Qatar University Doha Qatar

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

Forest and Nature Lab Department of Environment Ghent University Melle Belgium

Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre Gothenburg Sweden

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

Institute of Hydrobiology Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Life and Environmental Sciences University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland

Natural Resources Institute Finland Oulu Finland

Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland

Plant Ecology and Evolution Evolutionary Biology Center Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden

School of Biosciences University of Nottingham Loughborough UK

School of Geography University of Nottingham Nottingham UK

School of GeoSciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK

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

Université de Lorraine AgroParisTech INRAE Silva Nancy France

WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF Davos Switzerland

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