spatialData: Cool Spatial Datasets • spatialData

The R package spatialData provides spatial ecological datasets from research papers as sf data frames ready for analysis and modeling. It was designed as example data for other spatial R packages, but works equally well for tutorials and teaching.

Installation

Install from CRAN.

install.packages("spatialData")

Install the development version from GitHub.

library(pak)
pak::pkg_install("blasbenito/spatialData")

Data Loading

As with other example datasets in the R language, the different datasets in spatialData can be loaded with the function data().

library(spatialData)
#> 
#> Attaching package: 'spatialData'
#> The following object is masked from 'package:datasets':
#> 
#>     trees
data(quercus)
colnames(quercus)
#>  [1] "species"               "bio1"                  "bio10"                
#>  [4] "bio11"                 "bio12"                 "bio13"                
#>  [7] "bio14"                 "bio15"                 "bio16"                
#> [10] "bio17"                 "bio18"                 "bio19"                
#> [13] "bio2"                  "bio3"                  "bio4"                 
#> [16] "bio5"                  "bio6"                  "bio7"                 
#> [19] "topographic_diversity" "human_footprint"       "landcover_veg_bare"   
#> [22] "landcover_veg_herb"    "landcover_veg_tree"    "ndvi_average"         
#> [25] "ndvi_maximum"          "ndvi_minimum"          "ndvi_range"           
#> [28] "sun_rad_average"       "sun_rad_maximum"       "sun_rad_minimum"      
#> [31] "sun_rad_range"         "topo_slope"            "geometry"

Datasets

The table below summarizes the sf dataframes currently available in spatialData:

Dataset	Description	Spatial scope	Temporal scope	Rows	Responses	Predictors	CRS	Geometry
`andalusia`	Plant presences and environmental predictors	Andalusia, Spain	2000 - 2010	46,465	2	20	EPSG:25830	POINT
`communities`	Plant communities	Sierra Nevada, SE Spain	2009	7,300	6	9	EPSG:25830	POINT
`interaction`	Butterfly & host plant	Sierra Nevada, SE Spain	2014	1,000	3	10	EPSG:25830	POINT
`linaria`	Linaria nigricans vs. greenhouses	Eastern Andalusia, Spain		7,386	2	20	EPSG:25830	POINT
`neanderthal`	Neanderthals during MIS 5e	Europe	~120,000 BP (MIS 5e)	245	1	25	EPSG:4326	POINT
`plantae`	Plant diversity of the World’s Ecoregions	Global	2020	662	53	84	EPSG:4326	POINT (centroids)
`quercus`	European oaks	Europe	present	6,728	1	31	EPSG:4326	POINT
`trees`	Tree richness in Mesoamerica	Americas	2012	3,373	1	50	EPSG:4326	POLYGON
`vi`	Global NDVI records	Global	1999–2019	9,265	5	58	EPSG:4326	POINT

Extra Data

Several datasets ship with companion download functions that retrieve larger or complementary files from spatialDataExtra.

Dataset	Function	Description	Format	Geometry / Bands	Resolution	CRS
`andalusia`	`andalusia_extra()`	Environmental predictors	GeoTIFF	20 bands	400 m	EPSG:25830
`communities`	`communities_extra_2010()`	Baseline predictors (2010)	GeoTIFF	9 bands	100 m	EPSG:25830
`communities`	`communities_extra_2050()`	Projected predictors (2050)	GeoTIFF	9 bands	100 m	EPSG:25830
`communities`	`communities_extra_2100()`	Projected predictors (2100)	GeoTIFF	9 bands	100 m	EPSG:25830
`interaction`	`interaction_extra()`	Environmental predictors	GeoTIFF	10 bands	100 m	EPSG:25830
`linaria`	`linaria_extra()`	Environmental predictors	GeoTIFF	20 bands	400 m	EPSG:25830
`neanderthal`	`neanderthal_extra()`	Palaeoclimate and topographic predictors	GeoTIFF	25 bands	0.18°	EPSG:4326
`plantae`	`plantae_extra()`	Ecoregion polygons with full diversity data	GeoPackage	MULTIPOLYGON	662 features	EPSG:4326
`quercus`	`quercus_extra()`	Environmental predictors	GeoTIFF	31 bands	0.167°	EPSG:4326
`trees`	`trees_extra()`	Individual tree species presence points	GeoPackage	POINT	523,308 rows	EPSG:4326
`vi`	`vi_extra()`	Extended NDVI dataset (30,000 records)	GeoPackage	POINT	30,000 rows	EPSG:4326

License

CC BY 4.0 — see LICENSE.md for details.

Citation

The license of spatialData requires the following citation:

citation("spatialData")
#> To cite package 'spatialData' in publications use:
#> 
#>   Benito B (2025). "spatialData: Spatial Datasets for Ecological
#>   Modeling." doi:10.5281/zenodo.19508673
#>   <https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19508673>, R package version 1.0.0,
#>   <https://blasbenito.github.io/spatialData/>.
#> 
#> A BibTeX entry for LaTeX users is
#> 
#>   @Misc{,
#>     title = {spatialData: Spatial Datasets for Ecological Modeling},
#>     author = {Blas M. Benito},
#>     year = {2025},
#>     note = {R package version 1.0.0},
#>     url = {https://blasbenito.github.io/spatialData/},
#>     doi = {10.5281/zenodo.19508673},
#>   }

Several datasets were sourced from research paper and require their own citations as well:

`andalusia`

Benito, B.M., Lorite, J., Pérez-Pérez, R., Gómez-Aparicio, L., & Peñas, J. (2014). Forecasting plant range collapse in a mediterranean hotspot: when dispersal uncertainties matter. Diversity and Distributions, 20(1), 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12148

`communities`

Benito, B., Lorite, J., & Peñas, J. (2011). Simulating potential effects of climatic warming on altitudinal patterns of key species in Mediterranean-alpine ecosystems. Climatic Change, 108, 471–483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-0015-3

`interaction`

Barea-Azcón, J.M., Benito, B.M., Olivares, F.J., Ruiz, H., Martín, J., García, A.L., & López, R. (2014). Distribution and conservation of the relict interaction between the butterfly Agriades zullichi and its larval foodplant (Androsace vitaliana nevadensis). Biodiversity and Conservation, 23(4), 927–944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0643-4

`linaria`

Benito, B.M., Martínez-Ortega, M.M., Munoz, L.M., Lorite, J. & Penas, J. (2009). Assessing extinction-risk of endangered plants using species distribution models: a case study of habitat depletion caused by the spread of greenhouses. Biodiversity and Conservation, 18(9), 2509–2520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9604-8
Peñas, J., Benito, B., Lorite, J., et al. (2011). Habitat fragmentation in arid zones: a case study of Linaria nigricans under land use changes (SE Spain). Environmental Management, 48, 168–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-011-9663-y

Benito, B.P.d., Peñas, J.G.d. (2008). Greenhouses, land use change, and predictive models: MaxEnt and Geomod working together. In: Paegelow, M., Olmedo, M.T.C. (eds) Modelling Environmental Dynamics. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68498-5_11

`neanderthal`

Benito, B.M., et al. (2017). The ecological niche and distribution of Neanderthals during the Last Interglacial. Journal of Biogeography, 44, 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12845
Nielsen, T.K., Benito, B.M., Svenning, J.-C., Sandel, B., McKerracher, L., Riede, F., & Kjærgaard, P.C. (2017). Investigating Neanderthal dispersal above 55°N in Europe during the Last Interglacial Complex. Quaternary International, 431, 88–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.039

`plantae`

Maestre, F.T., Benito, B.M., Berdugo, M., et al. (2021). Biogeography of global drylands. New Phytologist, 231(2), 540–558. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17395

`trees`

Benito, B.M., Cayuela, L., & Albuquerque, F.S. (2013). The impact of modelling choices in the predictive performance of richness maps derived from species-distribution models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 4(4), 327–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12022
Cayuela, L., Gálvez-Bravo, L., Pérez Pérez, R., de Albuquerque, F.S., Golicher, D.J., Zahawi, R.A., et al. (2012). The Tree Biodiversity Network (BIOTREE-NET): prospects for biodiversity research and conservation in the Neotropics. Biodiversity & Ecology, 4, 211–224. https://doi.org/10.7809/b-e.00078

spatialData Spatial Datasets for Ecological Modeling

Installation

Data Loading

Datasets

Extra Data

License

Citation

andalusia

communities

interaction

linaria

neanderthal

plantae

trees

`spatialData` Spatial Datasets for Ecological Modeling