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Abstract:
There is a dearth of assessments of temporal trajectories and spatial patterns of planetary boundaries (PBs). However, a generic computation tool to facilitate such studies is lacking. Here, we developed an R-based, open-source software package ‘boundaries’ that can calculate and plot the statuses of different PBs (i.e. if, when, where, and how strongly they are transgressed), based on required variables provided from an external source. The pilot version presented here is designed to use outputs from the LPJmL biosphere model, which dynamically simulates processes
underlying the PBs for land-system change, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical (nitrogen) flows,
and freshwater change. We quantify and visualize the past and current statuses of these four PBs to demonstrate how boundaries can provide transparent and robust PB evaluation. We strongly
encourage users to enhance boundaries for processing outputs from other models and datasets, and provide guidance on how to do so.
