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The data consists of annual measurements of standing aboveground plant biomass, annual aboveground net primary productivity and annual soil respiration between 1998 and 2012. Data were collected from seven European shrublands that were subject to the climate manipulations drought and warming. Sites were located in the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), Denmark ( two sites, DK-B and DK-M), Hungary (HU), Spain (SP) and Italy (IT). All field sites consisted of untreated control plots, plots where the plant canopy air is artificially warmed during night time hours, and plots where rainfall is excluded from the plots at least during the plants growing season. Standing aboveground plant biomass (grams biomass per square metre) was measured in two undisturbed areas within the plots using the pin-point method (UK, DK-M, DK-B), or along a transect (IT, SP, HU, NL). Aboveground net primary productivity was calculated from measurements of standing aboveground plant biomass estimates and litterfall measurements. Soil respiration was measured in pre-installed opaque soil collars bi-weekly, monthly, or in measurement campaigns (SP only). The datasets provided are the basis for the data analysis presented in Reinsch et al. (2017) Shrubland primary production and soil respiration diverge along European climate gradient. Scientific Reports 7:43952 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43952 Standing biomass was measured using the non-destructive pin-point method to assess aboveground biomass. Measurements were conducted at the state of peak biomass specific for each site. Litterfall was measured annually using litterfall traps. Litter collected in the traps was dried and the weight was measured. Aboveground biomass productivity was estimated as the difference between the measured standing biomass in year x minus the standing biomass measured the previous year. Soil respiration was measured bi-weekly or monthly, or in campaigns (Spain only). It was measured on permanently installed soil collars in treatment plots. The Gaussen Index of Aridity (an index that combines information on rainfall and temperature) was calculated using mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature. The reduction in precipitation and increase in temperature for each site was used to calculate the Gaussen Index for the climate treatments for each site. Data of standing biomass and soil respiration was provided by the site responsible. Data from all sites were collated into one data file for data analysis. A summary data set was combined with information on the Gaussen Index of Aridity Data were then exported from these Excel spreadsheet to .csv files for ingestion into the EIDC.

Background: The global palm oil market experienced a remarkable boom since the year 2000. Since palm oil can be used for biodiesel production, the global expansion of oil palm cultivation has been associated with the global biofuel boom. Biofuel policies—especially those adopted in the European Union (EU)—have been blamed for the socio-environmental impacts of oil palm expansion. We explore how the global biofuel boom interacts with national geographies and social-economic and political processes to produce country-specific trajectories of biofuel crops expansion. We analyse the expansion of oil palm cultivation in Colombia between 2000 and 2010 from a political ecology perspective. Methods: The analysis is based on a framework that positions expansion of commodity frontiers within the ‘space-of-flows’ and the ‘space-of-place’. Through this approach, we identify the markets and geographies that define the country-specific trajectories of expansion of oil palm in Colombia, and their connections with general patterns of land control. The empirical analysis is based on primary data collected during fieldwork, and on an extensive review of secondary data about the palm oil sector and the socio-environmental effects of oil palm expansion in the country. Results: The contemporary oil palm expansion in Colombia was not specifically influenced by the international biofuel market. Expansion was characterized by an increasing production of palm oil for biodiesel, to supply a policy-driven national biofuel market controlled by national palm oil producers. The evidence shows that this oil palm expansion proceeded through a variety of land control practices that constitute forms of ‘accumulation by dispossession’ and ‘assimilation’. These are embedded in contextual factors that include the agrarian history of Colombia, the armed conflict, and government policies. Conclusions: Our study shows that the ways in which expansion of biofuel crops unfold in each producing country depend not only on the global biofuel market. They are also shaped by the country-specific geographies and political economies. Therefore, research and policies on the global expansion of energy crops should account for the complex and interrelated factors that mediate the specific ways in which the global demand for biofuels creates biofuel crop booms at country level.

Model projections show that production of high-value products from microalgae could be profitable nowadays and commodities will become profitable within 10 years.

Assessing ambitious nature conservation strategies in a below 2 degrees warmer and food-secure world – supplementary spatial data Authors: Marcel Kok, Johan Meijer, Willem-Jan van Zeist, Jelle Hilbers, Marco Immovilli, Jan Janse, Elke Stehfest, Michel Bakkenes, Andrzej Tabeau, Aafke Schipper, Rob Alkemade Point of contact: Marcel.Kok@pbl.nl Research paper summary: Global biodiversity is projected to further decline under a wide range of future socio-economic development pathways, even in sustainability-oriented scenarios. This raises the question how biodiversity can be put on a path to recovery, the core challenge for the CBD post-2020 global biodiversity framework. We designed two contrasting, ambitious global conservation strategies, ‘Half Earth’ (HE) and ‘Sharing the Planet’ (SP), and evaluated their ability to restore terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity and to provide nature’s contributions to people (NCP), while also limiting global warming below 2 degrees and ensuring food security. We applied the integrated assessment framework IMAGE with the GLOBIO biodiversity model, using the ‘Middle of the Road’ Shared Socio-economic Pathway (SSP2) with its projected human population growth as baseline. We found that both conservation strategies reduce the global loss of biodiversity and NCP, but are insufficient to restore biodiversity. The HE strategy performs generally better for terrestrial biodiversity (biodiversity intactness (MSA), Area of Habitat Index, Living Planet Index, Red List Index) in currently still natural regions. The SP strategy yields more improvements for biodiversity in human-used areas, aquatic biodiversity and for regulating NCP (pest control, pollination, erosion control, water quality). However, the ‘conservation only’ scenarios show a considerable increase in food security risks and further global temperature increase, compared to the baseline. To restore biodiversity, it is necessary to combine conservation strategies with a portfolio of ‘integrated sustainability measures’ including climate change mitigation actions to change the energy and food systems, where minimizing food wastes and reducing consumption of animal products are crucial. The combination of conservation strategies and additional sustainability measures will restore biodiversity an NCP while keeping global warming below two degrees and food security risks below the baseline projection. Contents: This repository contains the supplementary spatial data describing the specific prioritization of conservation areas under the Half Earth (HE) and Sharing the Planet (SP) scenarios, and the resulting scenario land use and MSA data sets for the year 2050, including also a baseline (BL) scenario. All spatial data is in geotiff format at a 10 arcsecond resolution in WGS84 coordinate system. Detailed description of the methodology is provided in the paper listed under "related identifiers". Keywords: Nature conservation, Half Earth, Sharing the Planet, Climate Change, Food Security, Solution-oriented scenarios, Biodiversity, Nature’s Contribution to People, NCP This repository contains the supplementary spatial data describing the specific prioritization of conservation areas under the Half Earth (HE) and Sharing the Planet (SP) scenarios, and the resulting scenario land use and MSA data sets for the year 2050, including also a baseline (BL) scenario. All spatial data is in geotiff format at a 10 arcsecond resolution in WGS84 coordinate system. Detailed description of the methodology is provided in the paper listed under "related identifiers".

1. Natural populations deliver a wide range of products that provide income for millions of people and need to be exploited sustainably. Large heterogeneity in individual performance within these exploited populations has the potential to improve population recovery after exploitation and thus help sustaining yields over time. 2. We explored the potential of using individual heterogeneity to design smarter harvest schemes, by sparing individuals that contribute most to future productivity and population growth, using the understorey palm Chamaedorea elegans as a model system. Leaves of this palm are an important non-timber forest product and long-term inter-individual growth variability can be evaluated from internode lengths. 3. We studied a population of 830 individuals, half of which was subjected to a 67 % defoliation treatment for three years. We measured effects of defoliation on vital rates and leaf size – a trait that determines marketability. We constructed integral projection models in which vital rates depended on stem length, past growth rate, and defoliation, and evaluated transient population dynamics to quantify population development and leaf yield. We then simulated scenarios in which we spared individuals that were either most important for population growth or had leaves smaller than marketable size. 4. Individuals varying in size or past growth rate responded similarly to leaf harvesting in terms of growth and reproduction. By contrast, defoliation-induced reduction in survival chance was smaller in large individuals than in small ones. Simulations showed that harvest-induced population decline was much reduced when individuals from size and past growth classes that contributed most to population growth were spared. Under this scenario cumulative leaf harvest over 20 years was somewhat reduced, but long-term leaf production was sustained. A three-fold increase in leaf yield was generated when individuals with small leaves are spared. 5. Synthesis and applications This study demonstrates the potential to create smarter systems of palm leaf harvest by accounting for individual heterogeneity within exploited populations. Sparing individuals that contribute most to population growth ensured sustained leaf production over time. The concepts and methods presented here are generally applicable to exploited plant and animal species which exhibit considerable individual heterogeneity. Vital rate and internode dataThis data file contains annual vital rate data (stem length growth, fruit production, survival and leaf production) of 830 individuals of the understorey palm Chamaedorea elegans, collected in a 0.7 ha plot in Chiapas, Mexico, during the period November 2012 - November 2015. A 2/3 defoliation treatment was repeatedly applied to half of the individuals. The data file also contains measurements of the lengths of all internodes of all individuals.

In this study, we test the effects of abiotic factors (light variation, caused by logging disturbance, and soil fertility) and biotic factors (species richness and functional trait composition) on biomass stocks (aboveground biomass, fine root biomass), SOM and productivity in a relatively monodominant Guyanese tropical rainforest. This forest grows on nutrient-poor soils and has few species that contribute most to total abundance. We therefore expected strong effects of soil fertility and species’ traits that determine resource acquisition and conservation, but not of diversity. We evaluated 6 years of data for 30 0.4-ha plots and tested hypotheses using structural equation models. Our results indicate that light availability (through disturbance) and soil fertility – especially P – strongly limit forest biomass productivity and stocks in this Guyanese forest. Low P availability may cause strong environmental filtering, which in turn results in a small set of dominant species. As a result, community trait composition but not species richness determines productivity and stocks of biomass and SOM in tropical forest on poor soils.

There is limited attention to impacts of climate change on pigs in Uganda by stakeholders, despite the potential vulnerability of pigs to climate change. Pigs are sensitive to heat-stress, as they do not have functioning sweat glands as other livestock species do, and have small lungs which reduces their ability to disseminate heat by panting. The objectives of the study were to i) determine the heat-stress status in pigs, ii) analyze factors influencing heat-stress, and iii) explore the heat-stress adaptation options in Lira District, Uganda. Lira was selected because of presence of both rural & urban areas and expected heat stress throughout the year in the district. The data including household demographics, management systems, age, color, breeds, body/skin temperature, rectal temperature and others were collected from 104 households and 259 pigs during the hot months in Ojwina and Barr sub-counties- Lira district. We collected data on adaptation options during the four gender disaggregated focus group discussions. Weather data was collected during the time of administering the questionnaire, and it was complemented with data from Ngetta Meteorological Station, Lira. STATA, 14