Historical tree phenology data across contrasting sites in the Congo Basin

Scientific Data 2026 Open access

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Authors: Koen Hufkens, Elizabeth Kearsley, Piet Stoffelen, Steven B. Janssens, Camille Couralet, Margaret Kosmala, Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu, Donatien Musepena, Dieu-Merci Assumani, Nestor K. Luambua, Benjamin Toirambe, Jean‐Remy M. Makana
+14 more Corneille E. N. Ewango, Tom De Mil, Marijn Bauters, Wannes Hubau, Elasi Ramanzani Kitima, José Mbifo Ndiapo, Adelard Lonema Chuda, Andrew David Richardson, Lisa Wingate, Bhely Angoboy Ilondea, Hans Beeckman, Jan Van den Bulcke, Pascal Boeckx, Hans Verbeeck
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-025-06542-z
Cited by: 0
References: 24

Abstract

We present a unique dataset of historical tropical tree phenology observations at two sites from different bioclimatic regions across the Congo Basin. We cover both the Atlantic Mayombe forest and the tropical forest in the central Congo Basin. To our knowledge this is the complete extant historical (1937-1957) phenology data across the Congo basin. The data contains ~10 million observations of 876 species, across 6339 individuals, and phenology metrics including leaf, flowering, and fruiting phenology. The data were recovered through expert transcription and validated community science based crowdsourcing. These data may provide a reference baseline and key information on how tree species are responding to a changing climate.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Remote Sensing in Agriculture Species Distribution and Climate Change Data Visualization and Analytics

Publication details

Journal / source
Scientific Data
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
221–221
Publication date
7 January 2026
Language
EN