Data comprise causal diagrams which show links between aspects that influence the well-being of rural inhabitants (e.g. good quality of food, good family relationships, education, etc) with ecosystem services (e.g. food from trees, wood sticks for construction, firewood, wood for charcoal production, etc.) and their causes (e.g. change in land use) in rural Mozambique. Information was gathered at 20 workshops held in Maputo, Xai Xai, Lichinga, Quelimane, and at village level in the districts of Mabalane, Marrupa and Gurue in 2014 and 2015. The objective of the workshops was to examine aspects that influence well-being and their causes in the miombo woodland area of rural Mozambique. One of the objectives of the project was to construct Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) to model future land use change scenarios in rural Mozambique using a participatory approach, to evaluate the consequences of deforestation in the well-being of the rural population. The data were collected as part of the Abrupt Changes in Ecosystem Services and Wellbeing in Mozambican Woodlands (ACES) project and were funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme, funded by NERC, the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for International Development (DfID), the three are government organizations from UK. The project was led by the University of Edinburgh, with the collaboration of the Universidad Mondlane, the IIED, and other organizations. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/14622c4b-8bd4-4624-8ea6-35da7da211cd

This dataset contains the transcripts of interviews and discussion groups on the current soya production from ten villages in the Gurue district, Zambezia province, Mozambique. The ten villages were selected from different stages of a land scarcity gradient running from villages with abundant land to those with intense land constraints, mainly driven by expanding agricultural activities and population density. The villages had similar infrastructure, soils, rainfall, and vegetation types. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with village small-scale soya producers, emergent soya farmers, managers of commercial soya producing operations, district officer, technicians of NGOs, formal and informal traders between July and December 2015. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/18c8cbf3-ed55-4065-b52b-b2a4c2ffdf1c

This dataset contains the transcripts of interviews and discussion groups from ten villages in the Gurue district, Zambezia province, Mozambique. The ten villages were selected from a land scarcity gradient running from villages with abundant land to those with intense land constraints, mainly driven by expanding agricultural activities and population density. The villages had similar infrastructure, soils, rainfall, and vegetation types. The dataset contains information on participatory mapping of the village characteristics, seasonality, how agricultural activity has changed over time (trend analysis), wealth ranking within the villages and differences between wealth statuses, and profiles/characteristics of each village. Interviews were conducted with groups in each village or the leader of the village, between July and December 2015. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/f82f7ad8-0e98-41cb-951e-be64ffd36078

This dataset contains the transcripts of interviews on the current structure of the main charcoal supply chains from seven villages in the Mabalane district of Gaza province to Maputo, Mozambique. The seven villages were at different stages of the charcoal production process within similar soils, rainfall, and vegetation types. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with key informants (e.g. village leaders, charcoal producers, wholesalers, truck drivers and forest officers), from May to October 2014. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/56bae7ce-4798-41a4-b702-2f847952f7ae

This dataset contains the transcripts of interviews and discussion groups from seven villages in the Mabalane district, Gaza province, Mozambique. The seven villages were selected from a forest degradation gradient running from villages with abundant undisturbed forest areas to those with degraded forests, mainly driven by charcoal production. The villages had similar infrastructure, soils, rainfall, and vegetation types. The dataset contains information on seasonality, how availability and use of products from the forest has changed over time (trend analysis), wealth ranking within the villages and differences between wealth statuses, and profiles/characteristics of each village. Interviews were conducted with groups in each village or the leader of the village, between May and September 2014. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/49a70237-c579-4669-b126-3f23d494aba6

Data comprise scenarios of how land use can be in the future and how will it affect ecosystem services in rural Mozambique. The scenarios were constructed from information gathered at five workshops held in Maputo, Xai Xai, Quelimane and Lichinga in 2014 and 2015. The objective of the workshops was to examine aspects that influence well-being (e.g. ecosystem services) and their causes (e.g. change in land use) in the Miombo woodland area of rural Mozambique and identify actions that could contribute to poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. The final objective was to construct scenarios of how the land use can be in Mozambique in the future (2035). The data were collected as part of the Abrupt Changes in Ecosystem Services and Wellbeing in Mozambican Woodlands (ACES) project and were funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme, funded by NERC, the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for International Development (DfID), the three are government organizations from UK. The project was led by the University of Edinburgh, with the collaboration of the Universidad Mondlane, the IIED, and other organizations. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/97c65c35-1db5-49d5-8ee0-ae5c7b699634

Data comprise soil profile (soil texture and pit description during fieldwork) and soil chemistry (bulk density, carbon content, carbon stock and organic carbon content obtained with thirteen carbon isotope analysis) from samples taken in the Ankeniheny Zahamena forest corridor, Madagascar. Data were collected as part of a project funded by the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme under work package 4 P4GES project, grant references: NE/K008692/1, NE/K010115/1, and NE/K010220-1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/c3884aa0-b083-469d-8a0d-fdbbb79aff05

[THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN]. Data comprise wood specific gravity (WSG) and density at 12% moisture content (D12) in wood cores sampled from trees in the Ankeniheny Zahamena forest corridor, the remains of the evergreen forest of eastern Madagascar. The data also include date of sample collection, zone identifier, core identifier, local and scientific tree name, tree height and diameter. Samples were analysed by UFR Sciences du bois de l'ESSA-forêts, Université d'Antananarivo. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Work package 4, P4GES project Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/5e9fe20b-8d00-4bd3-99cb-7989fa781348

Data comprise a forest inventory (tree name (local, scientific, genera, family), diameter, height), dendrometric tree characteristics (tree species, weight (branches, leaves, trunk), diameter, height, coordinates, distance, location) and aboveground biomass data (litter and root mat depth, biomass and carbon stock of living vegetation (sapling, tree and understorey), non-living vegetation (litter), lying dead wood and standing dead wood) sampled in the Ankeniheny Zahamena Forest Corridor (remains of the evergreen forest of eastern Madagascar). Living vegetation includes woody and herbaceous above soil vegetation including stems, branches, bark, seeds, and foliage (IPCC, 2006). Litter includes all non-living biomass with a size greater than the limit for soil organic matter (suggested 2 mm) and less than the minimum diameter chosen for lying dead wood (e.g. 10 cm) in various states of decomposition above or within the mineral or organic soil (IPCC, 2006). Dead wood includes all non-living woody biomass not contained in the litter, either standing, lying on the ground, or in the soil (IPCC, 2006). Understorey includes herbaceous vegetation in forests and fallows. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Work package 4 P4GES project, grant references: NE/K008692/1, NE/K010115/1, and NE/K010220-1 Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/cbeea40f-8e35-4875-8b49-815e04f0cbd9

Data comprise root weight (fresh and dry), root biomass and carbon stock, root mat measurements, root architecture, litter measurements and pivot, stump and surface root data for trees selected using the Voronoi or Pit method and sampled in the Ankeniheny Zahamena forest corridor, the remains of the evergreen forest of eastern Madagascar. Data were collected as part of a project funded under the Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme. Work package 4 P4GES project, grant references: NE/K008692/1, NE/K010115/1, and NE/K010220-1 Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/993c5778-e139-4171-a57f-7a0f396be4b8