Systematic review data from: A climate adaptation menu for North American grasslands

North American grasslands are climate-vulnerable biomes that provide critical ecosystem services and support biodiversity. However, grasslands are often not included in climate policy and treaties, and they are underrepresented in the ecological climate-adaptation literature. We synthesized existing knowledge on climate adaptation in North American grasslands to provide resources and guidance for grassland managers facing increasing climate change impacts. We leveraged data from a systematic review and solicited input from management professionals at workshops to create a Grassland Adaptation Menu—a referenced, hierarchical list of specific grassland management tactics nested under broader climate adaptation strategies. Our review revealed that although the number of published studies examining grassland-climate topics is increasing, relatively few provide actionable recommendations for adaptation. Among studies that did make recommendations, landscape-planning principles such as conserving grasslands in future climate refugia and enhancing connectivity were the most frequently recommended practice types, but there were also suggestions for site-level management such as adjustments to fire and grazing, improved seed-sourcing and restoration practices, increased heterogeneity and biodiversity, use of assisted migration, and management of microclimate conditions. The Grassland Adaption Menu incorporates eight general strategies and 32 approaches in a structured format designed to help managers translate concepts into actions.

Methods
These data are the product of a systematic review conducted on Web of Science to identify studies conducted on North American grasslands that address climate adaptation and managment in these systems under climate change. Studies were screened for revelvance, complied and collated, and vote count data were extracted on location, broad managment topic, system and organismal focus, and wether or not managment recommendations were made.