Landscape Dynamics (landDX): An open-access spatial-temporal database for the Kenya-Tanzania borderlands

The savannas of the Kenya-Tanzania borderland cover >100,000 km2 and is one of the most important regions globally for biodiversity conservation, particularly large mammals. The region also supports >1 million pastoralists and their livestock. In these systems, resources for both large mammals and pastoralists are highly variable in space and time and thus require connected landscapes. However, ongoing fragmentation of (semi-)natural vegetation by smallholder fencing and expansion of agriculture threatens this social-ecological system. Spatial data on fences and agricultural expansion are localised and dispersed among data owners and databases. Here, we synthesised data from several research groups and conservation NGOs and present the Landscape Dynamics (landDX) spatial-temporal database. The data includes 31,000 livestock enclosures, nearly 40,000 kilometres of fencing, and 1,500 km2 of agricultural land. We provide caveats and interpretation of the different methodologies used. These data are useful to answer fundamental ecological questions, to quantify the rate of change of ecosystem function and wildlife populations, for conservation and livestock management, and for local and governmental spatial planning.

肯尼亚-坦桑尼亚边境地带的稀树草原（savannas）面积逾10万平方千米，是全球生物多样性保护（尤以大型哺乳类保护为重）的核心区域之一。该区域同时承载超100万牧民及其饲养生畜。在此类社会-生态系统中，大型哺乳类与牧民所需的资源在时空维度上均呈现高度异质性，因此亟需维持连通性的景观格局。然而，当前小农户围栏建设与农业扩张正持续造成（半）自然植被的破碎化，对该社会-生态系统构成严重威胁。现有围栏与农业扩张的空间数据本地化且分散存储于各数据持有者与各类数据库中。本研究整合了多个研究团队与保护类非政府组织（NGO）的相关数据，构建并发布了景观动态（Landscape Dynamics, landDX）时空数据库。该数据集涵盖31000处牲畜围栏、近40000千米的围栏总长，以及1500平方千米的农业用地。我们同时针对数据集所采用的各类研究方法提供了注意事项与解读说明。本数据集可用于解答基础生态学核心问题、量化生态系统功能与野生动物种群的变化速率，可为生物多样性保护与畜牧管理工作提供支撑，同时服务于地方与政府的空间规划工作。