Previous studies exploring the effects of glacier retreat on biodiversity have tended to focus mostly on taxonomic richness while overlooking plant function. Understanding how plant functional diversity changes after glacier retreat is key for population persistence, community dynamics, and ecosystem functioning. This study addressed the challenge of predicting the impact of ecological changes on functional diversity (FD) by employing Ecological Indicator Values (EIVs). We report that EIVs of soil moisture, soil nutrients, and light predict FD and highlight a shift in FD linked with a change in ecological conditions as glaciers retreat. Looking at relationships between EIVs with single functional traits and FD indices, we provide novel evidence on the EIVs play in forecasting the response of ecological communities to climate change. By providing novel evidence on the impact of glacier retreat on EIVs and FD, this study represents a key step forward in understanding the maintenance of biodiversity over space-time. Photo taken by Gianalberto Losapio, depicting the glacier foreland ecosystems of Mont Minè and Ferpècle Glaciers, Valais, Switzerland. See Losapio et al. in this issue.l moisture, soil nutrients, and light predict FD and highlight a shift in FD linked with a change in ecological conditions as glaciers retreat. Looking at relationships between EIVs with single functional traits and FD indices, we provide novel evidence on the EIVs play in forecasting the response of ecological communities to climate change. By providing novel evidence on the impact of glacier retreat on EIVs and FD, this study represents a key step forward in understanding the maintenance of biodiversity over space-time. Photo taken by Gianalberto Losapio, depicting the glacier foreland ecosystems of Mont Minè and Ferpècle Glaciers, Valais, Switzerland. See Losapio et al. in this issue. [Detail] ...