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 modifed-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-modifed 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.
