DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15704554
title: Phenological Dataset for Ecological Forecasting
title: PheDEF Dataset

description: We present a harmonized phenology dataset from multiple sources organized as follows:



Phenology data from ground monitoring (ground_phenology_dataset_22062025.csv)

Traditional ecological knowledge of species phenology (tek_phenology_dataset_25062025.csv)

Phenocam derived phenology (rbg_index_phenocam_22062025.csv)

Citizen-science label-a-thon (phenopulse_events_classification_22062025.csv) 

Climate data (climate_dataset_26062025.csv)

Satellite images derived phenology (provided at https://data.4tu.nl/ using the same doi 10.5281/zenodo.15704554)


 

Metadata that describes columns in each datset is presented below.

1. Phenology data from ground monitoring (ground_phenology_dataset_22062025.csv)






 


Variable name



Description 



Type



Range





1



forest_id



Name of forest site



Categorical



Bobiri – Bobiri forest reserve; BFMS – Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary





2



plot_id



Plot number



Categorical



Plot 1

Plot 2





3



tag_number



Unique number linked to each liana or tree individual monitored in the plots



Numerical



1001-3518





4



species_name_worldflora



Scientific names of species of tagged tree and lianas from worldfloraonline.org



Categorical

 




5



family



Name of higher order taxonomic family to which the plant belongs.



Categorical

 




6



life_form



Stem habit of the plant



Categorical



Tree

Liana





7



flower_present



Presence of flowers on plant individual. 



Binomial



Yes

No





8



flower_phase



Phase of flower phenology observed. 



Categorical



Closed buds

First bloom (25% of flowers open)

Mid bloom (50% of flowers open)

Late bloom (75% of flowers open)

End bloom (all flowers open)

NA - no data





9



fruit_present



Presence of fruits on plant individual. 



Binomial



Yes

No





10



fruit_phase



Phase of fruit phenology observed.



Categorical



Fruit set (fruit formed)

Fruit development (fruit growing)

Fruit maturation (fruit mature)

Fruit ripening (ripe fruit)

Fruit aging (overripe or drying fruit)

Fruit fall

NA - no data





11



fruit_formed



Fruit set



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





12



fruit_growing



Growing fruit but not of maturity yet.



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





13



fruit_mature



Matured fruits



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





14



fruit_ripe



Ripe fruit (often changing colouration or scent)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





15



fruit_aging



Over ripe or drying fruit



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





16



fruit_fall



Fruits fall seen on forest floor.



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





17



leaf_present



Presence of leaves on plant individual.



Binomial



Yes

No





18



leaf_phases



Phase of leaf phenology observed.



Categorical



Bud swelling (closed bud)

Leaf unfolding (bud opening)

Leaf expansion (new leaf)

Mature leaf

Leaf coloured

Leaf fully coloured

Leaf fall

NA - no data





19



closed_leaf_bud



Bud swelling (closed bud)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





20



open_leaf_bud



Leaf bud unfolding (bud opening)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





21



new_leaf



Leaf expansion (new leaf)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





22



mature_leaf



Mature leaf



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





23



leaf_coloured



Leaf colouration onset (browning, yellowing or other signs of senescence onset)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





24



leaf_fully_coloured



Leaf fully coloured (fully brownish or yellowish or othe colours of leaf senescence)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





25



leaf_fall



Leaf fall on forest floor (leaf shedding)



Binomial



No – 0

Yes – 1

NA - no data





26



tree_crown_visible



Visibility of tree crown from forest floor.



Categorical



Fully visible

Partially visible

Not visible

NA - no data





27



date



Week in which data was collected (DD/MM/YYYY)



date



17-07-2024 to 16-06-2025 (48 weeks)





28



parent_index



Unique code that links observation to original record on koboform



Numeric



1485-1649






2. Traditional ecological knowledge (tek) of species phenology (tek_phenology_dataset_25062025.csv)






 


Variable



Description



Type



Range





1



forest



Name of forest near respondent



Categorical



Boabeng Fiema Monkey Santuary

Bobiri Forest Reserve





2



community



Respondent’s community of residence



Categorical



Boabeng

Bonte

Tankor

Kokrompe

Fiema

Bomini

Dwabenema

Kubease

Krofofrom

Duapompo

NA - no community selected





3. 



Respondent_age



Age of respondent interviewed



Continuous



Above 60

51 - 60

18 - 30

41 - 50

31 - 40

NA - no age selected





4



Gender



Respondent’s gender identity



Categorical



Male

Female





5



Community_stay



Years lived in the community



Categorical



1-2 years, 3-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-20 years, above 20 years





6



Primary profession/occupation



Respondent's main livelihood or occupation

 


Farmer

Other

Artisan

Trader

NA - no profession selected





7



Respondents



Unique respondent number



Categorical

 




8



Plant_list



Plants respondent knows from the list provided. Local name provided in parenthesis.



Nominal

 




9



month



Month and associated phenophase (e.g. jan_nl means occurrence of new leaf in January)



Categorical



New leaves - nl; Leaf shedding - ls; Flowering - fl; Fruiting - fr





10



count



Response whether or not the phenophase for the species occurs the month specified.



Categorical



0 - No, 1 - Yes






3. Phenocam derived phenology (rbg_index_phenocam_22062025.csv)






 


Variable name



Description 



Type



Range/Format





1



file



File address and file name. Filename is an id made of site name, plot number, camera number, date and time image was captured.



Nominal



siteid_YYYY_MM_DD_HHMMSS.JPG





2



time



Time on the filename



Date



DD/MM/YYYY





3



red



Mean values from red colour channel



Numeric

 




4



green



Mean values from green colour channel



Numeric

 




5



blue



Mean values from blue colour channel



Numeric

 




6



rcc



Red Chromatic Coordinates (RCC) = RDN/(RDN+GDN+BDN), where DN are average digital numbers within ROI.



Numeric

 




7



gcc



Green Chromatic Coordinates (GCC) = GDN/(RDN+GDN+BDN), where DN are average digital numbers within ROI.



Numeric

 




8



bcc



Blue Chromatic Coordinates (BCC) = BDN/(RDN+GDN+BDN), where DN are average digital numbers within ROI.



Numeric

 




9



rcc.std



Standard deviation for rcc in ROI.



Numeric

 




10



gcc.std



Standard deviation for gcc in ROI.



Numeric

 




11



bcc.std



Standard deviation for bcc in ROI.



Numeric

 




12



rcc05, rcc10, rcc25, rcc50, rcc75, rcc90, rcc95



5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90 and 95 percentiles derived for each red chromatic coordinate across the entire ROI



Numeric

 




13



gcc05, gcc10, gcc25, gcc50, gcc75, gcc90, gcc95



5, 10, 25, 75, 90 and 95 percentiles derived for each green chromatic coordinate across the entire ROI



Numeric

 




14



bcc05, bcc10, bcc25, bcc50, bcc75, bcc90, bcc95



5, 10, 25, 75, 90 and 95 percentiles derived for each blue chromatic coordinate across the entire ROI



Numeric

 




15



brightness



The maximum pixel value for red, green and blue channels. 



Numeric

 




16



darkness



The minimum pixel value for red, green and blue channels.



Numeric

 




17



contrast



The difference between brightness and darkness.



Numeric

 




18



grR



green/red ratio



Numeric

 




19



rbR



red/blue ratio



Numeric

 




20



gbR



green/blue ratio



Numeric

 




21



GRVI



green-red vegetation index (GRVI = G-R/G+R)



Numeric

 




22



exG



excess greenness (exG = 2G - R- B)



Numeric

 





4. Citizen-science label-a-thon (phenopulse_events_classification_22062025.csv)






 


Variable name



Description 



Type



Range/Format





1



user_id



Unique number for each image labelling volunteer



Numeric

 


 


classification_id



Unique number for each image label classification



Numeric

 




2



workflow_name



The name of labeling task on zooniverse



Categorical



Leafing events, Flowering events, Fruiting events



 


created_at



Date and time classification was created.



date

 




3



annotations



Labeling task executed on image file.



String

 




4



subject_data



Information on subject of task, e.g., time subject was created, time subject was retired.



String

 




5



filename



An id made of site name, plot number, camera number, date and time image was captured.



Nominal



siteid_YYYY_MM_DD_HHMMSS.JPG





6



event_values



Label applied to subject by volunteer/labeler. May also includes coordinates for polygons drawn on the image by labeler.



Categorical



Leafing events: New leaves, Mature leaves, Dry leaves, Leaf shedding

Flowering events: Yes, No, circle polygons

Fruiting events: Yes, No, triangle polygons.

NA -  no data






5. Climate data (climate_dataset_26062025.csv)






 


Variable



Description



Unit/format





1



Date



Date the values of climate variables were logged. 



Day, month, year





2



Time



Time of observation 



hour, minute, second





3



Wind_Speed



Average horizontal wind speed measured at sensor height above the ground



m/s





4



Gust_Speed



Maximum wind speed (gust) detected during each measurement interval



m/s





5



Wind_Direction



Compass direction from which the wind originates



°





6



Prec



Total accumulated precipitation recorded during the sampling interval



mm





7



Temp



Ambient air temperature measured at the sensor height



°C





8



RH



Percentage of water vapor present in the air relative to the maximum it can hold at a given temperature



%





9



Dew_Point



The temperature at which air becomes saturated and water vapor condenses into dew



°C





10



Site



Name of the location where the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) is installed.



Text (BFMS - Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary; BFR - Bobiri Forest Reserve)





11



Month



Calendar Month of the observation in number form



Integer (1-12)





12



Year



Calendar Year of the observation



Integer (2024, 2025)





13



Season



Climatic season classification, useful for ecological and phenological analysis



Text (Dry, Wet)





14



CumRain



Daily Cumulative Rainfall



mm





15



Dry



Binary indicator flag where 1 indicates a dry day with exactly 0 mm of precipitation (Prec == 0), and 0 indicates a wet day with rainfall greater than 0 mm



Boolean (1 = dry, 0 = wet)






6. Satellite images derived phenology (provided at https://data.4tu.nl/ using the same doi 10.5281/zenodo.15704554)