The effects of severe drought on the stability of dryland ecosystems are still uncertain and it is unknown whether diversity can buffer changes in systems that are adapted to water-limitation. We investigated the effects of long-term induced drought on the composition and maturity of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), as well as tested the hypothesis that diversity promotes stability using compositional resistance as a measure for ecosystem stability. We surveyed an array of 25 sites in the central Colorado Plateau, USA, that included plots that received ambient precipitation and plots that had experienced eight years of ~35% precipitation reduction. We found that biocrusts can maintain broad compositional integrity after long-term climate disturbance. However, biocrust successional reversal still occurred, with a reduction of later successional constituents and an increase of early successional cyanobacterial cover. Our findings indicate that long-term drought could have major impacts on biocrust community stability.