Evaluating the restoration of the commons: LDSF field data

The dataset is based on ecological field data collection carried out in prioritized common land areas in 288 treated and matched control villages in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Rajasthan. It is based on the Land Degradation Survelliance Framework (LDSF) methodology. The LDSF methodology typically follows a standardized sampling design, where clusters are selected within 10-by-10-kilometer sentinel sites and then 10 0.1 hectare plots are randomly selected within each cluster. Each plot is then divided into four 0.01-hectare sub-plots from which field measurements are subsequently taken. We adapted this sampling approach to meet the unique needs of our study. Specifically, we treated each prioritized common land area as a sampling cluster. We then randomly sampled 10 plots (including their associated four sub-plots) within each. We then took inventories of all the trees, shrubs, and saplings in each of the 40 sampled sub-plots. We further randomly selected two of the plots for water infiltration measurement, which took place in the central sub-plot of the sampled plots in question. Given the time and effort involved, it was not possible to take these measurements in all 10 plots.