FSC-certified forest management benefits large mammals compared to non-FSC

1.3 million camera trap photos of 55 mammal species collected from 2018 to 2021 in 14 logging concessions in Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The dataset was created by researchers including Joeri A. Zwerts from Utrecht University to compare mammal encounter rates between FSC-certified and non-FSC forest management. It provides evidence that FSC-certified concessions benefit larger mammals and species of high conservation priority.

Use Cases

• Compare mammal encounter rates between FSC-certified and non-FSC logging concessions based on camera trap data.
• Analyze species-specific responses to forest management, particularly for species weighing over 10 kg and high-priority species like forest elephants.
• Study changes in mammal community composition, such as the proportion of rodents versus larger species, in different forest management regimes.
• Model the effects of environmental drivers like distance to roads, rivers, and settlements on mammal abundance in logged forests.

Strengths

• Large sample size of 1.3 million camera trap photos.
• Covers 55 mammal species across 14 concessions, providing a community-level perspective.
• Research design paired FSC and non-FSC concessions to control for terrain and forest type.
• Data collection accounted for seasonal differences by deploying camera traps simultaneously within pairs.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the study region of Western Equatorial Africa.

Provenance

Source

Utrecht University, associated with the published research article in Nature (2024).

Collection Method

Camera traps deployed in systematic, one-kilometer spaced grids within paired logging concessions.

Time Range

2018 to 2021

Geography

14 logging concessions in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, Western Equatorial Africa.