Spatial prioritisation outputs in systematic conservation planning: data on total reserve extents and costs based on different levels of planning-unit size, thematic resolution of habitats, and socioeconomic cost data

Full description

This dataset contains information on the total reserve extents and costs (calculated as a proportion of the maximum possible cost) on each of the individual solutions generated (100 each) for each conservation prioritisation scenario created (20 each) The allcosts.csv files consists of data on total reserve costs for each individual solution (100 total) produced for each scenario (20 total). Total costs are calculated as proportions of the maximum possible cost, to allow comparison between different cost data. Rows indicate the individual solutions; columns indicate the unique prioritisation scenarios. The allsizes.csv files consists of data on total reserve extents for each individual solution (100 total) produced for each scenario (20 total). Rows indicate the individual solutions; columns indicate the unique prioritisation scenarios. Reserve extent values are in squared kilometers. Scenario code IDs reflect those used in publication to which these datasets relate.

Notes

There are several datasets associated with the study described in the related publication. The study quantifies the individual and interacting effects of three factors - planning-unit size, thematic resolution of habitat maps, and spatial variability of socioeconomic costs - on spatial priorities for conservation, by creating 20 unique prioritisation scenarios involving different levels of each factor. Prioritisations were run using the reserve selection tool Marxan. Because output data from these scenarios are analogous to ecological data, ecological statistics were applied to determine spatial similarities between reserve designs. The other datasets for this study can be found at the Related Data links below.

This dataset is available as 2 comma-separated values (.csv) files.

Coral-reef habitats in Fiji and Micronesia (consisting of the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, and the Federated States of Micronesia) were used as case studies. Although analyses are grounded in real data, they are demonstration exercises and not intended to inform real-world conservation action in the study regions.