Dataset for: Geo-referenced assessment of potato diversity for baselines in monitoring hotspots and reference sites

Biodiversity sustains a wide variety of genetic traits that are very valuable for the potato's adaption to changing environments and successful cultivation in the future. It is assumed that several factors are threatening biodiversity in the Andes. For example, first time line comparisons using existing databases and literature indicate that potato diversity belts have shifted to higher altitudes with future consequences on resource availability for potato production systems. In the past in situ monitoring was not possible due to missing baselines and no defined reference sites that were strategically selected for long-term monitoring. The georeferenced assessment contributes to monitoring baselines through employing participatory GIS, recording of temporal dynamics of local crop rotation pattern and household surveys allows to establish a standardized system and common observation parameters, complementing the holistic diversity monitoring of the potato genepool in its center of diversity at different scales (i) allele, genes, ii) variety/species, iii) landscape, iv) collective and traditional knowledge. Within the geo-referenced data collection the following products were generated a) red lists with indicators of frequency, abundance and distribution b) distribution maps using high resolution satellite images (to describe relevant changes affecting the distribution the potato diversity).