A spatial dataset about short-term land system dynamics (2005–2015) in the Mediterranean basin

Mediterranean land systems are undergoing significant changes in terms of agricultural land use and practices. The location and nature of agricultural areas in the Mediterranean basin are changing following a set of tensions and opportunities taking place both locally and in the entire basin. This dataset presents the main short-term land system dynamics (2005–2015) and their location on the whole Mediterranean basin. The dataset is based on existing land use map and available data about agricultural surface distribution, and it is obtained through a classification process of the land systems on the two analyzed data (2005 and 2015) and a subsequent change detection between the two obtained maps. It covers all the Mediterranean bioclimatic area in pixels of 2 km spatial resolution, harmonizing information from the northern and southern side of the basin. We identified different types of changes, and the most relevant in terms of surfaces are: (1) from mixed agriculture to specialized fruit groves; (2) from agricultural areas to urban and/or periurban areas; (3) from agroforestry to arable systems, and (4) from predominantly bare soils to agricultural areas. This data can be used for further analysis to assess underlying trajectories, and the impact of the observed dynamics on biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services, as well as on the organization of the food system.