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Understanding how biological and environmental factors interactively shape the global distribution of plant and animal genetic diversity is fundamental to biodiversity conservation. Genetic diversity measured in local populations (GD_P) is correspondingly assumed representative for population fitness and eco-evolutionary dynamics. For 8356 populations across the globe, we report that plants systematically display much lower GD_P than animals, and that life history traits shape GD_P patterns both directly (animal longevity and size), and indirectly by mediating core-periphery patterns (animal fecundity and plant dispersal). Particularly in some plant groups, peripheral populations can sustain similar GD_P as core populations, emphasizing their potential conservation value. We further find surprisingly weak support for general latitudinal GD_P trends. Finally, contemporary rather than past climate contributes to the spatial …