A comprehensive guide to socio-ecological data for the LTSER platform Eisenwurzen

Abstract Since 2004, LTER-Europe has been paving the way for a formal European Research Infrastructure “Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI)” designed for ecological and socio-ecological monitoring and research across Europe. Social-ecological systems research considers systemic relations between human activities and ecological processes, which allows to identify trends and feedbacks in their interaction. To represent both systems, it is important to integrate a variety of qualitative and quantitative data. We therefore collected 117 socio-ecological datasets for the Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) platform Eisenwurzen and provide an overview of the availability and accessibility of these data. We then cross-referenced these datasets with the current list of eLTER socio-ecological Standard Observations for the period 1970–2023. We observed an increase in the availability of all quantitative data, as well as their level of resolution, over the observation period. The evaluation showed that datasets exist for all Standard Observations studied, but their coverage varies considerably, especially for long time series. While information on land use systems and resource use was quite abundant, data on consumption, livestock and regional economy were rather scarce. As no qualitative data were publicly available, we included an exemplary sample and developed a data scheme that allows the integration of qualitative datasets into the eLTER information management framework.