DOI: 10.5061/dryad.612jm64k5
title: Conservation grounded in traditional ecological knowledge, culture, and hunting

description: The data are used for the accepted manuscript: "Conservation grounded
 in traditional ecological knowledge, culture, and
 hunting". The data that support the findings of this study
 are openly available. In Guangxi, China, Yao people (an indigenous people)
 employ a unique “bird-basin” hunting practice during the migratory season
 in Dayao mountains. To assess the impact of forest utilization practices
 on bird diversity, this study compares the bird diversity in the hunting
 grounds of the Yao people with that in old-growth forests and in firewood
 forests. We found a significantly higher level of bird species richness in
 the hunting grounds than in the old-growth forests and the firewood
 forests. Functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity were similar in
 the old-growth forests and hunting grounds, and were lowest in the
 firewood forests. Most of the birds captured by bird-basins were migratory
 species with a small body size. “Bird-basin” hunting could be an effective
 way of resolving conflicts between bird diversity conservation and
 regional economic development. Unlike firewood forests caused by shifting
 cultivation, forests within hunting grounds are proactively and
 effectively managed by the Yao people, and require no external funding.
description: We sampled the bird community using point counts: The first
 Table, named '<strong>point counting data</strong>'
 in the 'raw_data.xlsx' file, is used for calculating the bird
 diversity for the three types of forest, i.e., hunting grounds (HG),
 old-growth forests (OG), and the firewood forests (FF). Unlimited radius
 point counts were performed to survey birds in 2007 and 2008 during the
 peak period of bird activity, between sunrise and 3.5 h past sunrise, with
 10 min duration. The points were located at least 150 m apart. Twenty-one
 points were surveyed in each type of forest. A total of 63 points were
 selected, and 310 points counts were conducted.
 Vegetation surveys were conducted to determine whether bird
 distributions were correlated with vegetation structure. The second Table,
 named '<strong>Vegetation Cover and Fruit
 Tree</strong>', is used for calculating the land use by local
 Yao people through vegetation surveys. The surveys consisted of 13 plots
 within a 10-m radius for each habitat type in the same areas where bird
 surveys were conducted. The plots were located at 100-m intervals. The
 variables recorded in each plot included shrub cover, canopy cover, total
 cover, and number of fruit trees (DBH &lt;8 cm). Sampling points were
 established at 2-meter intervals along two diameters at right angles, with
 the exception of the point of intersection between the diameters. A total
 of 20 sample points were established within each graph. Here, we only show
 the calculated data results for vegetation surveys part.
description: # Conservation grounded in traditional ecological knowledge, culture, and
 hunting Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.612jm64k5](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.612jm64k5) ##
 Description of the data and file structure We sampled bird community using
 point counts in Dayao Mountains in 2007 and 2008 during the peak period.
 All points were selected within the three forest types, i.e., old-growth
 forest (OF), hunting ground (HG), and firewood forest (FF). Except for
 five points in the reserve that were not visited during the breeding
 season in 2008 as a result of a broken trail, each point was visited five
 times: twice in the breeding season from March to April, twice in the
 nonbreeding season from November to December in 2007 and 2008, and once
 before the migration season in September 2008. A total of 63 points were
 selected and 310 points counts were conducted. Bird hunting was also
 surveyed in six families during the migration season, from October to
 November 2008. The six families hunted for birds using traditional hunting
 methods in their ancestral HGs. Due to time constraints, it was difficult
 to check the harvests of the six families in a single day; therefore, we
 checked the composition of birds caught in bird basins for part of the six
 families per day. We identified and counted all captured birds by direct
 observation when hunters checked their bird basins. A total of 49 family ×
 harvest days were recorded. About the structure of the two Tables in
 'raw_data.xlsx' files: 1. We sampled the bird community using
 point counts: The first Table named 'point counting data' in the
 'raw_data.xlsx' file is used for calculating the bird diversity
 for the three types of forest. 2. Vegetation surveys were conducted to
 determine whether bird distributions were correlated with vegetation
 structure: The second Table named 'Vegetation Cover and Fruit
 Tree' is used for calculating the land use by local Yao people
 through vegetation surveys. ### Files and variables #### File:
 raw_data.xlsx **Part 1** **Table 1: 'point counting data'**
 ##### Variables * Name of point counts: The name of each point
 in point counts. 21 points were surveyed in each type of forest. Except
 for 5 points in the reserve that were not visited during the breeding
 season in 2008 as a result of a broken trail, each point was visited five
 times: twice in the breeding season from March to April, twice in the
 nonbreeding season from November to December in 2007 and 2008, and once
 before the migration season in September 2008. A total of 63 points were
 selected, and 310 points counts were conducted.  * Forest type: There are
 three forest type in this column, i.e., hunting grounds, old-growth
 forests, and the firewood forests. * Year: Survey years, including 2007
 and 2008. * Season: Survey seasons, including breeding season and
 non-breeding season. * Species in point counting data: this variable
 including columns from E to BS, totally 67 columns. The name of each
 column represents a species we surveyed in point counts. We used these
 columns of data for calculating the bird diversity.  
 
 **Part 2** **Table 2: 'Vegetation Cover and Fruit Tree'** #####
 Variables * forest type: There are three forest type in this
 column, i.e., hunting grounds, old-growth forests, and the firewood
 forests. * canopy cover: The number of points covered by a vertical
 projection of the canopy layers (Nc) was enumerated in each plot. Then the
 'canopy cover rate' was calculated by: Nc/20 * shrub cover: The
 number of points covered by a vertical projection of the shrub layers (Ns)
 was enumerated in each plot. Then the 'shrub cover rate' was
 calculated by: Ns/20. * total vegetation cover: The total cover rate was
 calculated by: (Nc + Ns - Nc ∩ Ns) / 20. * number of fruit trees: The
 result of fruit tree count. ## Code/software 1. EstimateS 8.0: Colwell, R.
 K. (2009). EstimateS: Statistical estimation of species richness and
 shared species from samples. In *Version 8.0*
 [http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/EstimateS](http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/EstimateS). 2. R 2025.09.2 R Core Team (2025). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. [https://www.R-project.org/](https://www.R-project.org/). ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * n/a Data was derived from the following sources: * Data was collected by the author, Wu Fei.