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Data för: Communities with diverse subsistence needs require a variety of functional tree traits

https://doi.org/10.5878/vz8y-kd07
The dataset consists of three files: tree species preference of both men and women and plant trait data. The present study was conducted at five sites across the eastern humid forest of Madagascar. We conducted separate focus groups for men and women. The first and second data materials summarize tree species preferences for each of nine use categories - charcoal, firewood, beam, roof, plank, furniture, spade, pestle and mortar – from men’s and women’s focus groups, respectively. For each use category, tree species were ranked in order of preference, and the value for each use category represents the mean ranking of each species. A higher ranking indicates greater preference for the species. The third data file contains the trait data for each plant species, including bark thickness, height, diameter at 1.3m height (DBH), specific leaf area (SLA), and wood specific gravity (WSG). It also includes the average distance (measured in walking time, converted by us to meters) that would be required for community members to harvest that species, if they were to do so. We sampled the traits of 3 - 6 adult individuals per species to obtain an average value. The bark data from Ranomafana was collected at an earlier date by Onja Razafindratsima and Kerry Brown. In the study we used additional trait data from Ranomafana that had been previously published, so we have not included it here - readers can find links to all datasets in the article.
Download data and documentation (3 files / 62.61 KiB)

Data files

  • Mean_preference_scores_men.tsv
    18.2 KiB
  • Mean_preference_scores_women.tsv
    18.24 KiB
  • Tree_trait_data.tsv
    26.17 KiB

Citation and access

Data access level:

Creator/​Principal investigator(s):

Research principal:

Principal's reference number:

  • SLU.vfm.2024.4.4.IÄ-1

Data contains personal data:

Yes

Type of personal data:

We have collected various data that, when combined, have a slight chance of leading back to an individual household. This includes approximate distance to resources, gender and age structure (number of adults vs children) of the household, and tree species in their gardens.

Citation:

Language:

Method and outcome

Unit of analysis:

Population:

This research refers to both human populations and tree species in the Eastern Rainforest ecoregion of Madagascar.

Time method:

Description of sampling:

To examine the preference of tree species for different uses, we selected 18 communities that live within 15 km from the forest; three to five communities per site. We conducted separate focus groups for men (n = 19) and women (n = 19), one to two focus groups per gender per community, depending on community size, with each consisting of four to six participants. To examine the availability of tree species, we interviewed a total of 614 households for how much time they would have to walk to harvest each tree species. We interviewed the head of the household present, either male or female. We mapped each community, finding all the houses on the outside edges. We then walked back through the village in a zigzag pattern, interviewing every third to fifth household, to get a representative sample of the village population. The number of the households sampled depended on the community size, and was selected to reach a total of 70-180 households per site. We used numbered questionnaires to track the number of interviews completed, but did not associate numbers with any identifying information. We collected only the gender and age structure of the household. Though we obtained informed consent, we did not record the names of either focus group or household members.

Time period(s) investigated:

Variables:

25

Response rate/​participation rate:

96.74%

Data format/​data structure:

Geographic coverage

Geographic location:

Geographic description:

Research was conducted at five sites throughout the eastern humid forest ecoregion of Madagascar (Marojejy, Analalava, Ankafobe, Ranomafana, and Ankarabolava and Agnakatrika). We have highlighted the general areas, encompassing both trait data collection and surveys, on the map.

Administrative information

Responsible department/​unit:

Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies

Funding

Funding agency:

Award number:

2020-03239

Award title:

Do seed dispersers facilitate sustainable development in Madagascar?

Funding agency:

  • IdeaWild

Award number:

RAKOMADA0622-00

Award title:

Sustainable provisioning ecosystem services of tree species in Madagascar’s humid forests and links to trees functional traits

Topic and keywords

CESSDA Topic Classification:

Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2025:

Keywords:

Publications

Citation:

Rakotovao, M., Borgerson, C., Brown, K. A., Cromsigt, J. P. G. M., Johnson, S. E., Razafindratsima, O. H., Mendum, R., Andrianjatovo, O. O., Ravaomanalina, H. B., Andriantsaralaza, S., & Holmes, S. M. (2025). Communities with diverse subsistence needs require a variety of functional tree traits. Conservation Science and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.70209Opens in a new tab

Contact

Metadata

Version 1
doris
slu
Published: