DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15133146
title: Selective logging and plantation impacts on avian abundances in Malaysian Borneo

description: If you wish to use these data, please contact grcerullo AT gmail DOT com

This dataset represents a geolocated and standardised bird sampling effort spanning a selective logging and plantation gradient in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and consists of 25,039 individual bird detections of 210 species. Habitat types sampled using point counts include:



Primary forest (6 sites, 72 point counts)

Restored forest (once-logged forest subjected to liana cutting and enrichment planting) (4 sites, 48 points)

Once-logged forest left naturally regenerating (5 sites, 60 points)

Twice-logged forest (8 sites, 96 points) 

Albizia falcataria plantations, grown on 12-yr rotation (3 sites, 36 points)

Eucalyptus pellita plantations, grown on 6-yr rotations. (3 sites, 36 points). 


Sites were seperated by >1 km and all points within 12-point transects were seperated by >250 m to ensure independence.  Point counts involved 2 experts (Daniel Kong, DK, or David Edwards, DE) conducting 15-minute point counts at each point location, repeated over three consecutive days. Data collected by DK also includes distance to bird, whereas data collected by DE included all species detected in 100 m radius, without recording distances. 

These data support the findings of Cerullo et al. 2025. Their collection was supported by a Peter Scott Studentship at Cambridge University to Gianluca Cerullo. Further information on sampling protocol and the study area can be found in Chapter 3 (and the appropriate Appendices) of GC's thesis: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/617f455b-2eb5-4b14-903a-9e6bbd968886 (this section will be updated upon manuscript publication). 

A description of the data columns is as follows: 




spp
common name of the species


abundance
number of individuals detected on the point count 


habitat
type of primary, selectively logged or plantation habitat (see above) 


site
site name - sites consist of 12 points with sites seperated by > 1km  


point 
point name 


day
day of sampling over three consective days 


year
year of sapling (one of 2008, 2011 or 2022)


flyover
was the bird a flyover (1). Only relevant for DK. DE point counts already remove flyovers. 


distance 
estimated distance of bird to surveyor. Only recorded by DK. 


adjacent
was the bird recorded in an adjacent habitat type (e.g. in a riparian forest buffer when the point count was in a plantation?)


adjacent_hab
if adjacent = TRUE, what was the adjacent habitat?


date
date of point count 


time
time of point count (point count orders across consective days were shuffled)


date_time 
concatenation of data and time


longitude
longitude of point count location 


latitude 
latitude of point count location 


sampler
sampler carrying out points counts (one of DK or DE)


logging_year
year that the first logging event took place


restoration_year
year that the first restoration (liana cutting or enrichment planting) took place


time_since_logging
time since selective logging (relative to the survey date)


time_since_restoration
time since restoration (relative to the survey date)


plantation_age
age of tree plantation (i.e. years since planting)


abc50
mean above-ground carbon in 50 m buffer around point count (derived from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717310790)


abc100
mean above-ground carbon in 100 m buffer around point count (derived from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717310790)


cth50
mean canopy tree heigh in 50 m buffer around point count (derived from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717310790)


cth100
mean canopy tree heigh in 100 m buffer around point count (derived from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320717310790)


latinname
latin name of bird species 


family1
family of bird species


order1
order of bird species 


trophic.level
one of carnivore; herbivore; omnivore 


primary.lifestyle
one of aerial; generalist; insessorial; terrestrial 




 

SHAPEFILES ARE ALSO PROVIDED FOR: 

SabahSoftwoodCompartments: the area, size and location of different plantation compartments within the Sabah Softwood tree plantation area. This represents the largest timber plantation in Sabah with Eucalyptus pellita and Albizia falcataria the main plantation species. 

SabahSoftwoodsPlantingYrs2022: The species planted in the plantation, plus the year of planting. These data were correct as of July 2022.  

DanumValley_PrimaryForest: Shows the boundaries of primary forest in Danum Valley. 

INFAPRO: Shows the location of areas logged and and then subjected to vine-cutting and strip-planting of native dipterocarp seedlings. 

COUPES: Shows the location and age of different logging coupes in the Yayasan Sabah logging concession.