Towards an Open and Fair International Tree-Ring database for intra-annual tree-ring data

Tree-ring research has played a pivotal role in unraveling past environmental conditions, understanding climate variability, and providing valuable insights into ecological changes over time. In the current era of digitalization, driven by technological advancements, the field is undergoing a profound transformation, delivering unprecedented details crucial for enhanced comprehension and exploration across various research domains. However, the absence of a suitable repository and the emerging imbalance between resource-intensive data producers and users pose significant challenges to data-sharing practices. This project aims to address these challenges by showcasing an operational solution, exemplified through intra-annually resolved wood cell anatomical data and images, involving the establishment of a modern, robust, and flexible repository and simultaneous redefinition of incentives for data producers. The Xcell Hub, through the creation of a community-specific, interactive, visualizable, and user-friendly online data repository, aims to foster Open Research Data (ORD) practices. This solution integrates modern open-source technologies, emphasizing decentralized interactivity, rewarding mechanisms, and transparent data assessment to secure data archiving, engage data producers, stimulate contributions, and enhance data quality