Spatial dataset for coastal vulnerability assessment, Region of Murcia (SE Spain): nine-variable 500×500 m grid with Posidonia oceanica conservation status

This dataset contains the spatial grid and all derived variables used to compute an ecosystem-based Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) for the sandy beaches of the Region of Murcia (SE Spain, Western Mediterranean). The index integrates nine variables, physical, geomorphological, socio-economic and ecological, over a regular 500 x 500 m coastal grid (601 cells), following the formulation of Thieler and Hammar-Klose (1999). The main methodological innovation is the inclusion of Posidonia oceanica meadow conservation status as a differential ecological variable, assigned using a precautionary worst-case criterion. The dataset includes the nine classified variables, the integrated CVI (CVI9), a sensitivity index excluding the ecological variable (CVI8), and a five-class vulnerability classification based on data-driven quintile thresholds. The grid covers 258 km of open Mediterranean coast plus the Mar Menor coastal lagoon. CVI values range from 2.36 to 111.80 (mean +/- SD: 27.88 +/- 21.70). Vulnerability hotspots are the Mar Menor (mean CVI 48.02) and the La Manga-Salinas de San Pedro sector (42.44). The GeoPackage includes embedded QGIS styles for all layers. Full methodological details are provided in the associated publication. Associated publication: Ibarra-Marinas, D. et al. (2026). Ecosystem-Based Coastal Vulnerability Index for Western Mediterranean Coasts: A Posidonia oceanica Approach.