Replicable Fine-Spatio-Temporal Climate Data for Long-Term Ecology in the Western Mediterranean

Abstract

Despite the increasing availability of climate data through various databases, obtaining fine temporal and spatial resolution data for past periods remains challenging. Here, we present (i) a toolkit for applying advanced downscaling techniques to coarse-resolution climate datasets within the widely used R programming framework, and (ii) downscaled data for a region recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot. Specifically, this toolkit consists of two R-packages (dsclim and dsclimtools) that were used to downscale seven climate variables for the Western Mediterranean, providing monthly climate data from 22 ka BP to the year 2100 at a spatial resolution of 11 × 11 km. Our aim is to offer open access to a cutting-edge climate dataset for researchers interested in this region and to encourage the reuse of both the dataset and the toolkit, facilitating the creation of similar high-resolution climate products for other regions. Given the ecological importance of this region, we also provide examples of scientific applications, such as spatio-temporal pattern analysis and ecological niche modeling, demonstrating its scientific value.