Understanding how carbon moved through ancient environments helps reconstruct past climates and predict future trends. We compiled a global database of total organic carbon and organic carbon isotope measurements from ancient land sediments spanning 350 million years. This collection of over 66 000 data points from 619 publications provides a unified resource to study carbon accumulation on ancient continents, climate shifts, and how these changes influenced life on Earth.

Vegetation plot databases have been widely developed, yet the Hengduan Mountains (HDM), one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots, remain insufficiently represented. The HDM-Plot dataset was compiled from field surveys conducted between 2022 and 2024 and includes 314 plots with 14 113 individual records from lowland dry-hot valleys to alpine ecosystems. It provides updated and standardized plot data for vegetation classification, mapping, and biodiversity research in mountain regions.