Questions Climbers do not invest in self-supporting architecture, allowing them to grow quickly and search for light and nutrients in canopy gaps. The climbing strategy requires both disturbance and external support; however, in herbaceous systems, disturbances often homogeneously remove external support. As a result, there should be a negative relationship between light availability and the presence of external support. Here, we asked if the distribution of herbaceous climbers is positively or negatively associated with disturbance, light availability and plant-available nutrients. Further, we tested if climbers differ in traits compared to co-occurring herbs. Location Czech Republic. Methods We used observations from a phytosociological database, species-rich grasslands and arable fields. First, we examined the presence of climbers in response to disturbance variables (frequency, severity and regime) and canopy cover (external support and light availability). Second, we examined the distribution of climbers along gradients of plant-available nutrients in species-rich grasslands. Finally, we compared seven functional traits between 31 climbers and 1,138 co-occurring herbs growing in 18 Central European herbaceous habitats. Results We found no relationship between any disturbance variables and the occurrence of climbers; indeed, climbers tended to occur more frequently in sites with denser canopies. In species-rich grasslands, the presence of climbers was positively related to plant-available magnesium. Climbers tended to be taller, with greater seed mass and specific leaf area (SLA) than co-occurring species. Conclusions Herbaceous climbers grow in plots with low light availability but plenty of external support and require magnesium for the formation of flexible stems. Compared to co-occurring herbs, climbers allocate resources saved from their lack of self-support to both shade-avoidance (canopy height) and shade-tolerance traits (seed mass, SLA). Compared to lianas, the distribution of herbaceous climbers is not affected by disturbance but is dependent on the availability of external support and magnesium.