2025/02/05 by Ondřej Mottl, Franka Gaiser, Irena Šímová +1 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Forest ecology and management #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
paper · doi:10.1101/2025.01.31.635213
openalex publication_date 2025/02/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Abstract Understanding the dynamics and persistence of biodiversity patterns over short (contemporary) and long (thousands of years) time scales is crucial for predicting ecosystem changes under global climate and land-use changes. A key challenge is integrating currently scattered ecological data to assess complex vegetation dynamics over time. Here, we present VegVault, an interdisciplinary SQLite database that uniquely integrates paleo- and neo-ecological plot-based vegetation data on a global and millennial scale, directly linking them with functional traits, soil, and climate information. VegVault currently comprises data from BIEN , sPlotOpen , TRY , Neotoma , CHELSA , and WoSIS , providing a comprehensive and ready-to-use resource for researchers across various fields to address questions about past and contemporary biodiversity patterns and their abiotic drivers. To further support the usability of the data, VegVault is complemented by the vaultkeepr R package, enabling streamlined data access, extraction, and manipulation. This study introduces the structure, content, and diverse applications of VegVault, emphasizing its potential role in advancing ecological research to improve predictions of biodiversity responses to global climate change.