MEDIS: spatial data for Mediterranean islands

The intrinsic characteristics of islands make them unique for studying
ecological and evolutionary dynamics. The Mediterranean Basin, a
biodiversity hotspot, is rich in islands, hosting a significant global
biodiversity proportion. Despite extensive research, a comprehensive
spatial dataset for these islands is lacking. This study presents the
first comprehensive spatial dataset of all Mediterranean islands larger
than 0.01 km2, aiding ecological investigations and interdisciplinary
research on economic, environmental, and social issues. The MEDIS
spatial dataset offers detailed information on 36 geographic, climatic,
ecological, and land-use variables, including island area, perimeter,
isolation metrics, climatic space, terrain data, land cover,
paleogeography, road networks, and geological information, providing a
multifaceted view of each island's characteristics. The
study encompasses 2212 islands in the Mediterranean Basin larger than 0.01
km2. The spatial grain varies, with datasets like CHELSA-BIOCLIM+ and
EU-DEM providing high-resolution climatic and terrain data. The
spatial dataset incorporates various datasets, each with its own
timeframes, such as the Global Shoreline Vector from 2014 Landsat imagery
and the WorldCover dataset from 2021. Historical data like the
Paleocoastlines GIS dataset offer insights into island configurations
during the Last Glacial Maximum. While not focusing on specific
taxa, the study lays the foundation for comprehensive research on
Mediterranean islands, facilitating comparisons and investigations into
the distribution of native, endemic, or alien species. The level of
measurement is extensive, encompassing a wide range of variables and
providing polygonal features rather than centroids’ coordinates.