This dataset provides estimate of the potential increase in soil organic carbon within the top 30 cm of soil in croplands after 20 years, following implementation of better land managment practices under a high sequestration scenario. The per pixel values here take in to consideration the percent of each pixel which is classified as cropland (from the GLC-Share/GLC-02 dataset), and values have been converted to total tonnes of carbon (x 100) per pixel.<br/><br>See: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15794-8">Zomer, R.J., Bossio, D.A., Sommer, R., Verchot, L.V., 2017. Global Sequestration Potential of Increased Organic Carbon in Cropland Soils. Scientific Reports 7, 15554</a>.<br/>For descriptions of sequrestion scenarions see: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.017">Sommer, R., Bossio, D., 2014. Dynamics and climate change mitigation potential of soil organic carbon sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management 144, 83–87</a>.<br/>

This updated layer of The Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW)database provided modelled livestock densities of the world, adjusted to match official (FAOSTAT)national estimates for the reference year 2005, at a spatial resolution of 3 minutes of arc (about 565 km at the equator).Recent methodological improvements have significantly enhanced these distributions: more up-to date and detailed sub-national livestock statistics have been collected; a new, higher resolution set of predictor variables is used; and the analyticalprocedure has been revised and extended to include a more systematic assessment of model accuracy and therepresentation of uncertainties associated with the predictions.<br><br>For further details on mapping methods see: Robinson, T.P., Wint, G.R.W., Conchedda, G., Van Boeckel, T.P., Ercoli, V., Palamara, E., Cinardi, G., D’Aietti, L., Hay, S.I., Gilbert, M., 2014. Mapping the Global Distribution of Livestock. PLoS ONE 9, e96084. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096084\"target=_blank>https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096084</a><br/><br>These digital layers are made publically available via the Livestock Geo-Wiki (<a href=\"http://www.livestock.geo-wiki.org\"target=_blank>livestock.geo-wiki.org</a><br/>

This dataset provides estimate of the potential increase in soil organic carbon within the top 30 cm of soil in croplands after 20 years, following implementation of better land managment practices under a medium sequestration scenario. The per pixel values here take in to consideration the percent of each pixel which is classified as cropland (from the GLC-Share/GLC-02 dataset), and values have been converted to total tonnes of carbon (x 100) per pixel.<br/><br>See: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15794-8">Zomer, R.J., Bossio, D.A., Sommer, R., Verchot, L.V., 2017. Global Sequestration Potential of Increased Organic Carbon in Cropland Soils. Scientific Reports 7, 15554</a>.<br/>For descriptions of sequrestion scenarions see: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.05.017">Sommer, R., Bossio, D., 2014. Dynamics and climate change mitigation potential of soil organic carbon sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management 144, 83–87</a>.<br/>

Human pressures on the ocean are thought to be increasing globally, yet we know little about their patterns of cumulative change, which pressures are most responsible for change, and which places are experiencing the greatest increases. Managers and policymakers require such information to make strategic decisions and monitor progress towards management objectives. Here we calculate and map recent change over 5 years in cumulative impacts to marine ecosystems globally from fishing, climate change, and ocean- and land-based stressors. Nearly 66% of the ocean and 77% of national jurisdictions show increased human impact, driven mostly by climate change pressures. Five percent of the ocean is heavily impacted with increasing pressures, requiring management attention. Ten percent has very low impact with decreasing pressures. Our results provide large-scale guidance about where to prioritize management efforts and affirm the importance of addressing climate change to maintain and improve the condition of marine ecosystems. Halpern, B. S. et al. Spatial and temporal changes in cumulative human impacts on the world’s ocean. Nat. Commun. 6:7615 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8615 (2015).

This updated layer of The Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW)database provided modelled livestock densities of the world, adjusted to match official (FAOSTAT)national estimates for the reference year 2005, at a spatial resolution of 3 minutes of arc (about 565 km at the equator).Recent methodological improvements have significantly enhanced these distributions: more up-to date and detailed sub-national livestock statistics have been collected; a new, higher resolution set of predictor variables is used; and the analyticalprocedure has been revised and extended to include a more systematic assessment of model accuracy and therepresentation of uncertainties associated with the predictions.<br><br>For further details on mapping methods see: Robinson, T.P., Wint, G.R.W., Conchedda, G., Van Boeckel, T.P., Ercoli, V., Palamara, E., Cinardi, G., D’Aietti, L., Hay, S.I., Gilbert, M., 2014. Mapping the Global Distribution of Livestock. PLoS ONE 9, e96084. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096084\"target=_blank>https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096084</a><br/><br>These digital layers are made publically available via the Livestock Geo-Wiki (<a href=\"http://www.livestock.geo-wiki.org\"target=_blank>livestock.geo-wiki.org</a><br/>

Source: Map created by EPI (Elephant Protection Initiative) with data from CIESIN, Columbia University, USA. The map is published on UNEP's South Sudan: First State of Environment and Outlook Report 2018, using data from WCS. The UNEP's report could be found <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/south-sudan-first-state-environment-and-outlook-report-2018" target=_blank> here </a> <br><br> The map shows the population distribution in South Sudan. Jonglei is the most populous area, with 16 per cent of the total population, and Western Bahr el Ghazal is the least populous area with only 4 per cent of the total. The highest population densities are along the Nile River and their tributaries.

The forest integrrity index is derived by overlaying the human footprint (Venter et al. 2016) on the forest structural condition. The name is consistent with the concept of ecological integrity. Ecological integrity has been defined as, “the system’s capacity to maintain structure and ecosystem functions using processes and elements characteristic for its ecoregion.” (Parks Canada 2008).  This capacity is a result of the climate, soil, topography, biota and other biophysical properties of the ecoregion and the extent to which these properties are not altered by modern human pressures. Consistent with this definition, the forest integrity index is based on on the structural complexity of a stand relative to the natural potential of the ecoregion and level of human pressure. Thus, forest of high integrity are relatively tall, high in canopy cover, older, and with relatively low human pressure.  An increasing number of studies have shown that human pressure in various forms can have negative effects on native species.  Thus, high integrity forests may be uniquely important for conservation because they support species and processes that are require well-developed forests and are sensitive to human activities.  Such forests often also have high economic value and have likely been preferentially converted to more intense human land uses.  Thus, identifying remaining areas of high forest integrity is important for conservation planning.<br><br>Data is provided by Montana State University.<br/><br>License information: <a href "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC-4.0 Attribution</a>.<br/>

This dataset show general agricultural suitability at a spatial resolution of 30 arc-second (~1km), considering rainfed conditions and irrigation on currently irrigated areas. The agricultural suitability represents for each pixel the maximum suitability value of considered 16 plants, including: We show a subset of the data that covers three time periods (1981-2010, 2011-2040, 2071-2100), as well as changes in agricultural suitability over the same periods.<br><br>For futher details see: <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0107522">Zabel F., Putzenlechner B., Mauser W. (2014): Global agricultural land resources – a high resolution suitability evaluation and its perspectives until 2100 under climate change conditions</a><br/><br>Data can also be downloaded from <a href="http://geoportal-glues.ufz.de/stories/globalsuitability.html">here</a>.<br/>

The forest integrrity index is derived by overlaying the human footprint (Venter et al. 2016) on the forest structural condition. The name is consistent with the concept of ecological integrity. Ecological integrity has been defined as, “the system’s capacity to maintain structure and ecosystem functions using processes and elements characteristic for its ecoregion.” (Parks Canada 2008).  This capacity is a result of the climate, soil, topography, biota and other biophysical properties of the ecoregion and the extent to which these properties are not altered by modern human pressures. Consistent with this definition, the forest integrity index is based on on the structural complexity of a stand relative to the natural potential of the ecoregion and level of human pressure. Thus, forest of high integrity are relatively tall, high in canopy cover, older, and with relatively low human pressure.  An increasing number of studies have shown that human pressure in various forms can have negative effects on native species.  Thus, high integrity forests may be uniquely important for conservation because they support species and processes that are require well-developed forests and are sensitive to human activities.  Such forests often also have high economic value and have likely been preferentially converted to more intense human land uses.  Thus, identifying remaining areas of high forest integrity is important for conservation planning.<br><br>Data is provided by Montana State University.<br/><br>License information: <a href "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC-4.0 Attribution</a>.<br/>

The forest structural condition index is derived from the University of Maryland canopy cover, canopy height, and time since forest loss data sets. The index spans from short, open-canopy, recently disturbed forests to tall, closed canopy forests that have not been disturbed with the last 14 years. Forest stature and canopy cover are products of both the biophysical potential of a local site and of disturbance history. The tallest, most dense forests are found in settings with favorable climate and soils but with low levels if natural or human disturbance. Such forests have been shown to support high levels of biodiversity, store high levels of carbon, and be more resilient to climate variability. Our maps of forest structural condition are the first to identify locations in the humid tropics of tall, dense forests resulting from high biophysical potential and low disturbance rates.<br><br>Data are provided by the Montana State University for South America, Africa and Asia separately, and have been merged into a single dataset here.<br><br>License information: <a href "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"> CC-4.0 Attribution</a>.<br/>