Table 1 Limitations and proposed solutions to promote sharing data on tree allometric equations

Intellectual property

Hinders collaboration and reduces data availability.

Encourage the clarification of intellectual property rules and establishing incentives for data sharing.

Data use policy

Work undertaken by owner(s) and author(s) is not properly recognized. Creates mistrust among parties involved.

Promote agreements that clarify what the data will be used for and what constitutes “fair use.” Journals should request a statement regarding data provenance.

Lack of culture exposure to collaborative environments

Not sharing data negatively affects professional performance. Reduces equation availability.

Implement guidelines and encourage actions to foster collaboration and clarify authorship issues. Promote publication of equations and data sharing through regional workshops that create international collaborations.

Data sharing structures

Incompatible data sets and standards limit scaling out and up. Reduces equation availability, utilization, and recognition of local scientist efforts.

Develop frameworks for data sharing that includes clear rules, standardized procedures, formats, platforms, and funding streams for data sharing. Promote the use and implementation of regional or global database networks with reliable availability structures and clear use agreements.

Sustainability of efforts

Limits data collection, analysis, quality assurance and control, valorization, and sharing. Decreases local, national, or regional contributions.

Establish national and institutional policies to encourage data sharing and provide funding incentives for research and publication of local allometric equations.

Data quality and completeness

Uncertainty of estimates remains unresolved. Precludes researchers from drawing broader inferences from larger, pooled datasets.

Standards and tools for quality control need to be provided to facilitate quality assurance and control procedures.