The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Clements, Hayley S.; Do Linh San, Emmanuel; Hempson, Gareth; Linden, Birthe; Maritz, Bryan; Monadjem, Ara; Reynolds, Chevonne; Siebert, Frances; Stevens, Nicola; Biggs, Reinette; De Vos, Alta; Blanchard, Ryan; Child, Matthew; Esler, Karen J.; Hamann, Maike; Loft, Ty; Reyers, Belinda; Selomane, Odirilwe; Skowno, Andrew L.; Tshoke, Tshegofatso; Abdoulaye, Diarrassouba; Aebischer, Thierry; Aguirre-Gutiérrez, Jesús; Alexander, Graham J.; Ali, Abdullahi H.; Allan, David G.; Amoako, Esther E.; Angedakin, Samuel; Aruna, Edward; Avenant, Nico L.; Badjedjea, Gabriel; Bakayoko, Adama; Bamba-kaya, Abraham; Bates, Michael F.; Bates, Paul J. J.; Belmain, Steven R.; Bennitt, Emily; Bradley, James; Brewster, Chris A.; Brown, Michael B.; Brown, Michelle; Bryja, Josef; Butynski, Thomas M.; Carvalho, Filipe; Channing, Alan; Chapman, Colin A.; Cohen, Callan; Cords, Marina; Cramer, Jennifer D.; Cronk, Nadine; Cunneyworth, Pamela M. K.; Dalerum, Fredrik; Danquah, Emmanuel; Davies-Mostert, Harriet T.; de Bl...

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems.

Citation

Clements, H. S., Do Linh San, E., Hempson, G., Linden, B., Maritz, B., Monadjem, A., Reynolds, C., Siebert, F., Stevens, N., Biggs, R., De Vos, A., Blanchard, R., Child, M., Esler, K. J., Hamann, M., Loft, T., Reyers, B., Selomane, O., Skowno, A. L., Tshoke, T., …Woodhouse, G. M. (2024). The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses. Scientific Data, 11(1), Article 191. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02832-6

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 7, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 12, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2024
• Journal: Scientific Data
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 191
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02832-6
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3514198