This dataset includes values of 15 traits (total dry mass; root length to shoot length ratio; leaf mass fraction; root mass fraction; shoot mass fraction; leaf thickness; leaf force to punch; leaf area to shoot area ratio; leaf concentrations of N, P, K, Ca and Mg; leaf N: P concentration ratio; specific maximum root length) measured in February 2020 on 394 seedlings of 15 woody plant species growing in logged in the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve or unlogged forest in the Danum Valley Conservation Area, Malaysia. The purpose of this data collection was to determine whether the expression of plant functional traits differed between tree seedlings recruited into logged and unlogged forests. This information is important for understanding the drivers of variation in seedling growth and survival in response to logging disturbance, and to uncover the mechanisms giving rise to differentiation in tree seedling composition in response to logging. These data were collected as part of NERC project “Seeing the fruit for the trees in Borneo: responding to an unpredictable community-level fruiting event” (NE/T006560/1). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/e738e8af-554a-4940-bb56-267c7377d74d