Multi-year dataset of Eurasian lynx distribution in part of the Carpathian metapopulation (2022–2023) based on SCALP+

The Status and Conservation of the Alpine Lynx Population (SCALP) was
created in the early 1990s to survey the status of the lynx in the Alps,
carry out monitoring activities in coordination between Alpine countries
and close research gaps in the region. The project brings together a team
of experts focused on compiling available data on lynx and standardising
their interpretation. SCALP has not only been compiling data required for
the description of the conservation status of the lynx population in the
Alps, but has also been advancing the conceptual and methodological
approach of transboundary monitoring with the SCALP criteria. The SCALP
criteria classify species occurrence data according to their verifiability
(i.e. C1 = hard fact data, C2 = verified records, C3 = unverified records
or records which by their nature cannot be verified) and are now commonly
used in several species. Thanks to the standardised data interpretation,
direct comparison of lynx distribution between countries and populations
is possible. Lynx presence was mapped at a 10 x 10 km (ETRS89-LAEA Europe)
grid scale. This grid is widely used for Habitat Directive reporting to
the European Union (EU) and can be downloaded at:
[http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/eea-reference-grids-2]. Since
2013, SCALP has been expanded to include additional countries in Europe
and renamed to SCALP+. Here, we provide the shp files of SCALP+ for data
of two years (2022 and 2023) from eleven countries. The shp files
visualise the distribution of lynx in the respective countries, core areas
of populations (where reproduction occurs) and variation in underlaying
data quality.