Data comprise weight (grams) of dried oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) frond litter remaining in a variety of litter bags after 10, 30, 60 and 90 days buried under the litter layer in oil palm plantations located in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The bags all initially contained four grams of dried oil palm frond cut into 2 cm sections and the bags were oven-dried at 70oC to a constant weight. The plantations consisted of mature oil palm (data from 2014), and mature and replanted oil palm (data from 2016-2017) plots which are part of a large-scale ecological experiment programme (the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture project, established in 2013). Eighteen plots were examined across three estates – plots in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista estates were planted in 1987 to 1992 and are mature or over-mature oil palm, while Libo plots (2016-2017 dataset only) were replanted in 2014. Plots were organised in triplets and in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista, for each triplet one plot was assigned to each of three vegetation treatments: reduced vegetation cover, normal vegetation management and enhanced vegetation cover. There were three types of litter bags: fine mesh, 2mm mesh, and fine mesh with four 1 cm holes. Decomposition was measured six times from 2013 to 2017, including a reduced protocol in May 2016 at the peak of an El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related drought. The project 'Managing tropical agricultural ecosystems for resistance and recovery of ecosystem processes' was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council under NE/P00458X/1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/592051e6-016f-49c6-9ef9-799a0f842100

Data comprise sunflower seed predation rates (i.e. number of seeds remaining) after 24 hours under different treatments in eighteen experimental plots plots established in 2013 as part of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) programme. Eighteen plots were examined across three estates - plots in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista estates were planted in 1987 to 1992 and are mature or over-mature oil palm, while Libo plots were replanted in 2014. Plots were organised in triplets and in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista, for each triplet one plot was assigned to each of three vegetation treatments: Reduced vegetation cover, normal vegetation management and enhanced vegetation cover. The project 'Managing tropical agricultural ecosystems for resistance and recovery of ecosystem processes' was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council under NE/P00458X/1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1256d475-f321-4a9b-b4ed-927e5b825d3f

Data comprise mealworm predation rates measured after 24 hours exposure to invertebrates in mature oil palm (2014), and mature and replanted oil palm (2016-2017) plots as part of a large-scale ecological experiment programme (the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture project, established in 2013). Eighteen plots were examined across three estates - plots in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista estates were planted in 1987 to 1992 and are mature or over-mature oil palm, while Libo plots (2016-2017 dataset only) were replanted in 2014. Plots were organised in triplets and in in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista, for each triplet one plot was assigned to each of three vegetation treatments: Reduced vegetation cover, normal vegetation management and enhanced vegetation cover. Freshly-killed mealworms (larvae of darkling beetles, Tenebrionidae sp.) were glued onto oil palm fronds trimmed so that ca. 10 cm of each of six leaflets remained. Exclusion and stratum treatments in factorial combinations were applied: caged and uncaged, canopy and ground. The cage exclusion treatments were designed so that most invertebrates could access the fronds but vertebrates could not. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/03d36ac4-4cf4-46d9-a608-866ba0aab458

This dataset includes results from social and environmental surveys of 27 oil palm smallholders and farms in Selangor, Malaysia. Environmental data includes: information on size of plot, crop type and cover, GPS location, vegetation cover, vegetation height, canopy density, epiphyte cover, soil pH, soil moisture, palm herbivory and palm health. Social data includes information (all anonymised) on: plot area, number of palms, sociodemographic data, plantation management practices applied, knowledge and value assigned to wildlife, and yield. Data were collected from March to September 2022. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/81b02484-a87e-4a49-baba-678654059091

Data comprise counts of damage to palm fronds in mature oil palm (2013-2015), and mature and replanted oil palm (2016-2017) plots as part of a large-scale ecological experiment programme (the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture project, established in 2013). Herbivory was measured 17 times in total (every 3-4 months) between April 2013 and August 2017. Eighteen plots were examined across three estates - plots in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista estates were planted in 1987 to 1992 and are mature or over-mature oil palm, while Libo plots (2016-2017 data only) were replanted in 2014. Plots were organised in triplets; in Ujung Tanjung and Kandista, for each triplet one plot was assigned to each of three vegetation treatments: Reduced vegetation cover, normal vegetation management and enhanced vegetation cover. The data contain damage estimated in three ways: by eye for the whole crown, by eye for the 17th frond, and by image processing for 20 leaflets of the 17th frond. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/c2fbd22c-1ce9-4435-b4b0-e333addef346

This dataset includes results from biodiversity, social and environmental surveys of 46 oil palm smallholders and farms in Riau, Indonesia. Biodiversity data includes: pitfall trap data on arthropod abundance and higher-level order identification, sticky trap data on flying invertebrate abundance (identified to higher-level order), transect data on assassin bugs, Nephila spp. spiders and butterflies (identified to species), counts of insects visiting oil palm inflorescences if any open (identified to Elaeidobius kamerunicus and higher-level orders for other groups) and data on meal worm removal from each plot. Environmental data includes: soil temperature readings recorded over 24 hours, information on size of plot, crop type and cover, GPS location, vegetation cover, vegetation height, canopy density, epiphyte cover, soil pH, soil moisture, leaf litter depth, horizon depths, palm herbivory and palm health. Social data includes information (all anonymised) on: plot area, number of palms, sociodemographic data, plantation management practices applied, knowledge and value assigned to wildlife, and yield. Data were collected from November 2021 to June 2022. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b61a12a2-d091-41af-b451-a14de4f4a3c3

This dataset includes results from biodiversity, social and environmental surveys of 49 oil palm smallholders and farms in Perak, Malaysia. Biodiversity data includes sticky trap data on flying invertebrate abundance (identified to higher-level order), transect data on assassin bugs, Nephila spp. spiders and butterflies (identified to species), and data on mealworm removal from each plot. Environmental data includes soil temperature readings recorded over 24 hours, information on the size of the plot, crop type and cover, GPS location, vegetation cover, vegetation height, canopy density, epiphyte cover, soil pH, soil moisture, leaf litter depth, horizon depths, palm herbivory and palm health. Social data includes information (all anonymised) on plot area, number of palms, sociodemographic data, plantation management practices applied, knowledge and value assigned to wildlife, and yield. Data were collected from December 2021 to July 2022 Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/189164db-fe83-4b3f-b572-2fe99faba2d1

This dataset details information collected from smallholder oil palm farms in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Including: management practices, oil palm fruit yield, understorey vegetation, and soil chemical properties (SOC, total N, total P and available P). We collected data between August to November 2019 from 40 smallholdings (defined as farms < 50 ha) across six governance areas in Sabah. We used responses from face-to-face questionnaires to collect information about their management practices, including Best Management Practices (BMPs), and reported Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) yields. We also carried out field surveys on these farms to quantify vegetation cover and soil chemical properties. All smallholder farms had mature fruiting trees i.e. > 8 years since planting. The project received ethical approval from the Biology Ethics Committee, University of York (Ref. SGA201906), and permission from the Sabah Biodiversity Council (Ref. JKM/MBS.1000-2/2 JLD.8), Danum Valley Management Committee (Ref. YS/DVMC/2019/27), and South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (project number 18033) for permission to conduct our research in Sabah, Malaysia. This work was funded by the NERC iCASE studentship (NE/R007624/1) and Proforest. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/38487932-b32a-4b15-9fda-ea812c463466

This data set provides a spatial stratification of forest cover into discrete vegetation classes according to the High Carbon Stock (HCS) Approach. The data set covers the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project site located in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Data were collected in 2015 during a project which was included in the NERC Human-modified tropical forest (HMTF) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/81cad1ef-b5cc-4592-a71f-204a5d04b700

This data set contains stacked detection matrices for 28 recorded mammal species across 115 sampling locations at the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project site located in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Information for each camera trap sampling location, including spatial information and sampling effort is included. Data were collected in order to determine the contribution of carbon-based policies to biodiversity conservation in agricultural land-use mosaics. These data are essential to the development of the occupancy detection matrix. Data were collected in 2015 during a project which was included in the NERC Human-modified tropical forest (HMTF) Programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/62774180-ae72-4873-9482-e8be3935f533