Published August 21, 2025 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Global Wood Density Database v.2 (GWDD v.2)

Creators

  • 1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TQ United Kingdom
  • 2. Centre de Recherche Biodiversité Environnement, UMR 5300 (CNRS/IRD/UPS/INPT), 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
  • 3. Technical University of Munich, School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management in Mountain Landscapes, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
  • 4. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA
  • 5. Direccion de Investigación, Vicerrectoría Academica, Universidad de Talca, Campus Lircay, Talca, 3460000 Chile
  • 6. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, 8310000 Chile
  • 7. Millenium Nucleus of Patagonian Limit-of-Life (LiLi), Valdivia 5090000, Chile
  • 8. Université de Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Gembloux, Belgium
  • 9. CIRAD, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, F-34398 Montpellier, France
  • 10. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, ESALQ, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Pádua Dias, 11, 13418-900 Piracicaba, Brazil
  • 11. AMAP, Université de Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
  • 12. CIRAD, UMR AMAP, F-98848 Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie, France
  • 13. IAC, Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie
  • 14. Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
  • 15. Department of Forest and Water Management, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
  • 16. Forest Is Life, TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Gembloux Agro Bio‐Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux
  • 17. Laboratorio de Ecología de Bosques Tropicales y Primatología, Universidad de Los Andes, 111711, Bogotá D.C, Colombia
  • 18. Fundacion Con Vida, Medellín, Colombia
  • 19. Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  • 20. Centre for Rainforest Studies, The School for Field Studies, Yungaburra Qld 4872, Australia
  • 21. Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, BR
  • 22. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration Lab, Londrina State University, Campus Universitario, CCB, BAV, 86.051-990 Londrina, PR, Brazil
  • 23. TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Gembloux Agro Bio-Tech, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium
  • 24. National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (NUBiP), 03041 Kyiv, Ukraine
  • 25. CIRAD, UMR AMAP, F‐34398 Montpellier, France. AMAP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
  • 26. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
  • 27. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
  • 28. Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
  • 29. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005 50192, Zaragoza, Spain
  • 30. Laboratorio de Ecología de Bosques Tropicales y Primatología, Fundación Natura Colombia, Universidad de Los Andes, 111711, Bogotá D.C, Colombia.
  • 31. Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
  • 32. University of California, Berkeley, Departement of Geography, Berkeley, CA, United States
  • 33. Department of Wildlife Management and Tourism Studies, University of Namibia Katima-Mulilo Campus, Ngweze, Katima-Mulilo 1096, Namibia
  • 34. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia
  • 35. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Edificio de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Av. Vélez Sársfield 1611, (CP5000), Córdoba, Argentina
  • 36. School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
  • 37. Terrestrial Ecology and Modelling (TEaM) Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, SRM University-AP, Amaravati-522240, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • 38. Centre for Geospatial Technology, SRM University-AP, Amaravati-522240, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • 39. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar 788 011, India
  • 40. Biodiversity Research and Systematic Botany, Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Potsdam, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
  • 41. École Nationale Supérieure des Travaux Publics du Tchad, Département des Sciences Fondamentales, BP 60, N'Djamena, Tchad
  • 42. Department of Plant Sciences and Centre for Global Wood Security, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
  • 43. Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
  • 44. School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, University of Melbourne, Burnley Campus, Boulevard Drive, Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
  • 45. Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney New South Wales 2052, Australia.
  • 46. National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
  • 47. Université de La Réunion, UMR PVBMT, Saint-Pierre, Reunion, France
  • 48. Department of Biology, Section of Ecology and Taxonomy, Athens, Greece
  • 49. CIRAD, UPR BioWooEB, F-34398 Montpellier, France
  • 50. BioWooEB, Univ Montpellier, Cirad Montpellier France
  • 51. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå, Sweden
  • 52. University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California Berkeley, USA
  • 53. Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR SayFood, 91120, Palaiseau, France
  • 54. Institute of Botany, Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity, BOKU University, Vienna, Austria
  • 55. Faculty of Resource Management, HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Daimlerstraße 2, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
  • 56. Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Georg-August University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • 57. AMAP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
  • 58. University of New South Wales - School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences - Evolution & Ecology Research Centre - Faculty of Science
  • 59. The University of Melbourne, Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science
  • 60. Institute of Botany, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany
  • 61. Department of Botany, Bhattadev University, Bajali, Assam, India 781325
  • 62. Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8686, Japan
  • 63. Terrestrial Ecology and Modelling (TEaM) Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, SRM University-AP, Amaravati-522502, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • 64. Centre for Geospatial Technology, SRM University-AP, Amaravati-522502, Andhra Pradesh, India
  • 65. School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
  • 66. Dept of Plant Ecology and Ecosystems Research, Albrecht-von-Haller Inst. for Plant Sciences, Univ. of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
  • 67. Think Nature Inc., Urasoe City, Japan.
  • 68. Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Japan.
  • 69. Climate and Natural Resources Group, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Ourimbah, NSW, Australia
  • 70. Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Serra Talhada Academic Unit, CEP: 56909-535, Serra Talhada, PE, Brazil
  • 71. Forest Botany, Technical University of Dresden, Pienner Straße 7, 01737 Tharandt, Germany
  • 72. Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
  • 73. School of Biological Sciences and Te Pūnaha Matatini, Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, Auckland, 1010 New Zealand
  • 74. Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia, Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais, Praça José Bastos, s/n, Centro, 45600-923 Itabuna, BA, Brazil
  • 75. Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 76. Jackson School of Geosciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, United States of America
  • 77. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
  • 78. self-employed
  • 79. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar 788011, Assam, India
  • 80. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, BR
  • 81. Wildlife Conservation Society, Tanzania Country Program, Nature-Based Solutions, P. O Box 5196, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • 82. Centro Universitário UniFG, Av. Governador Nilo Coelho, 4911, São Sebastião, Guanambi, Bahia, CEP 46430-000, Brazil
  • 83. Colégio Estadual Francisco Moreira Alves. Jaborandi-Bahia.
  • 84. Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
  • 85. Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, Centro de Ecologia Integrativa, Campinas, Brazil
  • 86. Departamento de Botánica, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
  • 87. Division of Forest and Biomaterials Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
  • 88. CSIRO Environment, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • 89. Centro de Formação em Ciências Agroflorestais, Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia, BR 415, km 29, Ilhéus, BA 45613-204, Brazil
  • 90. Department of Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, 319E Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
  • 91. University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
  • 92. University of Antananarivo, Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques, Mention Foresterie et Environnement, BP 175 Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
  • 93. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia
  • 94. Area de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León, Campus de Vegazana s/n, 24071, León, Spain
  • 95. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panama City, Panama
  • 96. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Panamá, Estafeta Universitaria, Panamá
  • 97. Forest Research Group, INDEHESA, University of Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain
  • 98. Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tercer Circuito sn de Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico
  • 99. Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • 100. Pembroke College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
  • 101. Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
  • 102. Laboratorio Nacional de Geoquímica y Mineralogía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Ciudad de México, México
  • 103. Plant Ecology, Albrecht von Haller Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Goettingen, Untere Karspüle 2, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
  • 104. School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 105. Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tarty, Tartu, Estonia
  • 106. School of the Environment, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
  • 107. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, 605014, India
  • 108. Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • 109. LMGC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Montpellier, France
  • 110. Universidad del Tolima GIBDET
  • 111. Jardín Botánico de Bogotá
  • 112. Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
  • 113. School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  • 114. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Republic of Panama
  • 115. Independent Researcher

Description

The Global Wood Density Database v.2

The Global Wood Density Database v.2 (GWDD v.2) is a collection of 109,626 taxonomically standardized wood density records and 15,093 additional bark density records. Data include measurements at different levels of aggregation (individual, species) and both georeferenced records and values from the literature. For a full description of the database, please see the corresponding manuscript (Fischer et al. 2025. Beyond species means - the intraspecific contribution to global wood density variation. Accepted for publication in New Phytologist on 2 December 2025. Preprint on BioRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.25.671896). It includes and supersedes the GWDD v.1 (Zanne et al. 2009, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.234).

When using the GWDD v.2 in your work, please cite Fischer et al. 2025 as well as this repository using the corresponding DOI (10.5281/zenodo.16919510). 

 

Aggregated wood density data

We provide pre-aggregated wood density data, with wood density estimates at species, binomial species and genus level. Wood density estimates are derived from hierarchical (random effects) models and provided both as simple species mean values (wsg_est) and as species mean values for trunks (wsg_est_trunk) and branches (wsg_est_branch) separately. In addition, we provide raw wood density means (wsg_raw), but we do not recommend using them for practical purposes due to outliers for poorly sampled species.

gwddagg_v2.1_species: pre-aggregated wood density values for 17,261 species, including infraspecific epithets; comprises 16,828 taxonomically resolved species well as 433 values with uncertain taxonomic status

gwddagg_v2.1_binomial: pre-aggregated wood density values for 16,905 binomial species

gwddagg_v2.1_genus: pre-aggregated wood density values for 3,198 genera

 

Raw wood density data

In addition, we also provide the underlying raw wood density database. This collection contains one metadata file and raw data files in .csv format. Since special characters (e.g., in the references) can be distorted by operating systems when reading in .csv files, we also provide all data in .RData format, which can be loaded into R with the load() function. 

columns_gwdd_v2.1: metadata for all the columns included in the GWDD v.2

gwdd_v2.1: the GWDD v.2, including all 109,626 wood density records

gwdd_v2.1_withbark: the GWDD v.2, including all 109,626 wood density records and 15,093 additional bark density records

 

Files

columns_gwdd_v2.1.csv

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