It is currently estimated that, worldwide, two out of five plant species are threatened with extinction. Whilst this trend is clearly identifiable at the global scale, there is debate as to whether species richness declines locally. The processes driving this phenomenon—the "biodiversity conservation paradox" as researchers call it, has remained largely unresolved until now. An international team of scientists led by iDiv and MLU has investigated these shifts in species composition in three distinct habitats; mountain summits, forest understories as well as species-rich lowland meadows and pastures.