VegVault

VegVault integrates global paleo- and neo-ecological plot-based vegetation data with functional traits, soil, and climate information in an SQLite database to support research on biodiversity patterns and their abiotic drivers over millennial time scales.

Key Features:

• Global data integration: Combines plot-based vegetation data from BIEN, sPlotOpen, Neotoma with functional traits from TRY, climate data from CHELSA, and soil data from WoSIS.
• Paleo- and neo-ecological linkage: Uniquely integrates paleo-ecological and neo-ecological vegetation data on a global and millennial scale within a single database.
• Direct trait-environment linking: Directly links vegetation data with functional traits, soil, and climate information.
• Programmatic access: Complemented by the {vaultkeepr} R package for streamlined data access, extraction, and manipulation.

Scientific Applications:

• Biodiversity dynamics research: Addresses questions about past and contemporary biodiversity patterns and their persistence over short and long time scales.
• Ecosystem change prediction: Supports research to improve predictions of biodiversity responses to global climate change and land-use changes.
• Abiotic driver analysis: Enables assessment of relationships between vegetation patterns and abiotic drivers including climate and soil conditions.

Methodology:

VegVault is implemented as an SQLite database.