Process eLTER data for the IASDT

This function processes pre-cleaned and pre-standardized Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research (eLTER) data for the Invasive Alien Species Digital Twin (IASDT).

Usage

eLTER_process(env_file = ".env", start_year = 1981)

Arguments

env_file

Character. Path to the environment file containing paths to data sources. Defaults to .env.

start_year

Numeric. The starting year for the occurrence data. Only records from this year onward will be processed. Default is 1981, which matches the year ranges of CHELSA current climate data.

Value

Returns NULL invisibly after saving the processed data.

Note

This function processes pre-cleaned vascular plants data from eLTER sites, harmonized by Ahmed El-Gabbas. The original eLTER biodiversity data were highly heterogeneous in format and structure, requiring standardization and cleaning before use. Taxonomic standardization with the GBIF backbone was performed by Marina Golivets (Feb. 2024).

Author

Ahmed El-Gabbas