The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses
Hayley S. Clements, Emmanuel Do Linh San, Gareth P. Hempson, Birthe Linden, Bryan Maritz, Ara Monadjem, Chevonne Reynolds, Frances Siebert, Nicola Stevens, Reinette Biggs, Alta De Vos, Ryan Blanchard, Matthew F. Child, Karen J. Esler, Maike Hamann, Ty Loft, Belinda Reyers, Odirilwe Selomane, Andrew Skowno, Tshegofatso Tshoke, Diarrassouba Abdoulaye, Thierry Aebischer, Jesús Aguirre‐Gutiérrez, Graham J. Alexander, Abdullahi H. Ali, David G. Allan, Esther Ekua Amoako, Samuel Angedakin, Edward Aruna, Nico L. Avenant, Gabriel Badjedjea, Adama Bakayoko, Abraham Bamba-kaya, Michael F. Bates, Paul J. J. Bates, Steven R. Belmain, Emily Bennitt, J. Chester Bradley, Chris A. Brewster, Michael B. Brown, Michelle Brown, Josef Bryja, Thomas M. Butynski, Filipe Carvalho, Alan Channing, Colin A. Chapman, Callan Cohen, Marina Cords, Jennifer Danzy Cramer, Nadine Elizabeth Cronk, Pamela M. K. Cunneyworth, Fredrik Dalerum, Emmanuel Danquah, Harriet T. Davies‐Mostert, Andrew D. de Blocq, Yvonne A. de Jong, Terrence C. Demos, Christiane Denys, Chabi A. M. S. Djagoun, Thomas M. Doherty‐Bone, Marine Drouilly, Du Toit, David A. Ehlers Smith, Yvette C. Ehlers Smith, Seth J. Eiseb, Peter J. Fashing, Adam W. Ferguson, José María Fernández-García, Manfred Finckh, Claude Fischer, Edson Gandiwa, Philippe Gaubert, Jérôme Y. Gaugris, Dalton J. Gibbs, Jason Gilchrist, José María Gil‐Sánchez, Anthony Githitho, Peter Goodman, Laurent Granjon, J. Paul Grobler, Bonginkosi C. Gumbi, Václav Gvoždík, James T. Harvey, Morgan Hauptfleisch, Firas Hayder, Emmanuel M. Hema, Marna Herbst, Mariano Houngbédji, Brian Huntley, Rainer Hutterer, Samuel T. Ivande, Kate Jackson, Gregory F. M. Jongsma, Javier Juste, Blaise Kadjo, Prince Kaleme, Edwin Kamugisha, Beth A. Kaplin, Humphrey N. Kato, Christian Kiffner
Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems.