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

Fischer, Fabian Jörg; Chave, Jerome; Zanne, Amy; Jucker, Tommaso; Fajardo, Alex; Fayolle, Adeline; Ferreira de Lima, Renato Augusto; Vieilledent, Ghislain; Beeckman, Hans; Hubau, Wannes; De Mil, Tom; Wallenus, Daniel; Aldana, Ana María; Alvarez-Davila, Esteban; Alves, Luciana; Apgaua, Deborah Mattos Guimarães; Arcanjo, Fátima; Bastin, Jean-Francois; Bilous, Andrii; Birnbaum, Philippe; Blyshchyk, Volodymyr; Borah, Joli; Boukili, Vanessa; Camarero, J. Julio; Casas Caro, Luisa Fernanda; Cazzolla Gatti, Roberto; Chambers, Jeffrey Q; Chimbioputo Fabiano, Ezequiel; Choat, Brendan; Conti, Georgina; Cornwell, Will; Dar, Javid Ahmad; Das, Ashesh Kumar; Dobler, Magnus; Dougabka, Dao; Edwards, David; Evans, Robert; Falster, Daniel; Fearnside, Philip; Flores, Olivier; Fyllas, Nikolaos; Gerard, Jean; Goodman, Rosa; Guibal, Daniel; Henao-Diaz, Luis Francisco; Hervé, Vincent; Hietz, Peter; Homeier, Jürgen; Ibanez, Thomas, Paul; Ilic, Hugo; Jansen, Steven; Kalita, Rinku Moni; Kenzo, Tanaka; Kindermann, Liana; Kothandaraman, Subashree; Kotowska, Martyna; Kubota, Yasuhiro; Langbour, Patrick; Lawson, James; de Lima, André Luiz Alves; Link, Roman Mathias; Linstädter, Anja; López, Rosana; Macinnis-Ng, Cate; Magnago, Luiz; Martin, Adam Robert; Matheny, Ashley Michelle; McCarthy, James; Miller, Regis B; Nath, Arun Jyoti; Nelson, Bruce; Njana, Marco; Nogueira, Euler Melo; Oliveira, Alexandre; Oliveira, Rafael; Olson, Mark; Onoda, Yusuke; Paul, Keryn; Piotto, Daniel; Radtke, Phil; Razafindratsima, Onja; Ramananantoandro, Tahiana; Read, Jennifer; Richardson, Sarah; de la Riva, Enrique G; Rodriguez Reyes, Oris; Rolim, Samir; Rolo, Victor; Rosell, Julieta A.; Salguero-Gomez, Roberto; Santini, Nadia; Schuldt, Bernhard; Schwendenmann, Luitgard; Sellin, Arne; Staples, Timothy; Stevenson, Pablo R; Sundarapandian, Somaiah; van der Sande, Masha; Thibaut, Bernard; Tng, David; Torezan, Jose Marcelo; Villanueva, Boris; Weiskittel, Aaron; Wells, Jessie; Wright, S Joseph; Zieminska, Kasia

doi:10.5281/zenodo.20815517

Published June 23, 2026 | Version v2.2 (with metadata)

Dataset Open

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

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

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. 2026. Beyond species means – the intraspecific contribution to global wood density variation. New Phytol. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70860). 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. 2026 as well as this repository using the corresponding DOI (10.5281/zenodo.16919509).

If you would like to report an issue or suggest improvements for future updates of the GWDD, please do so on github: https://github.com/fischer-fjd/GWDD/issues

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.x_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.x_binomial: pre-aggregated wood density values for 16,905 binomial species

gwddagg_v2.x_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.x: metadata for all the columns included in the GWDD v.2

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

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

Files

columns_gwdd_v2.2.csv

Files (171.8 MB)

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columns_gwdd_v2.2.csv md5:b1b494e22cbf4e48762d162f10e386b0	3.5 kB	Preview Download
gwdd_v2.2.csv md5:646454bd0ebcecb201fe081d0efde8fe	73.4 MB	Preview Download
gwdd_v2.2.RData md5:97a1f050d5cfdb283e7b2d493f85eddc	4.3 MB	Download
gwdd_v2.2_withbark.csv md5:b93ed0e08d757a8156d25e5c8d87b914	85.8 MB	Preview Download
gwdd_v2.2_withbark.RData md5:40315033f5f0e2b31dd935e884e89605	4.2 MB	Download
gwddagg_v2.2_binomial.csv md5:2ce721e791fca2b5eb17c31f81a59228	1.7 MB	Preview Download
gwddagg_v2.2_genus.csv md5:f9e7ccb930ffa22a433ec2f19af035bb	233.6 kB	Preview Download
gwddagg_v2.2_species.csv md5:a8f0317b62e9412df00bffc329015c89	2.1 MB	Preview Download

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

Authors/Creators

Description

The Global Wood Density Database v.2

Aggregated wood density data

Raw wood density data

Files

columns_gwdd_v2.2.csv

Files (171.8 MB)