NFI Woodland Mammals

uk/nfi-woodland-mammals

Mammal community data generated through eDNA metabarcoding (mt 16S rRNA) of woodland surface samples (sampled with roller method) collected within National Forest Inventory (NFI) woodland plots across England in 2024/25 and 2025/26. The dataset comprises the processed sequence data and provides a list of all the species detected in each of the samples. Where a species was detected in a sample, the Read Counts (the number of DNA sequences assigned to a species) are reported. A blank cell indicates that the species was not detected in the sample. Additionally, for each species the following is included: • The OTU DNA sequence • The taxonomic identification: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species • Common Name: Where identified to species, the common name is provided. • IUCN Red List Threat Status (only available for OTUs named at the species level) • Invasive status: A Yes/No status indicating whether the species is listed as invasive in the country the sample was taken from (only available for OTUs named at the species level). Unexpected or non-native species detections in this data may reflect actual presence of unexpected species in woodland samples or more likely it will represent such eDNA being moved to the sample site through contamination or environmental transport of eDNA from external sources such as captive animal collections, rather than actual species being present at the sampling site. Such detections should be interpreted with an awareness of the possibility of such cross contamination of eDNA across England. The 'NFI Woodland Mammals’ is a project funded by the UK Government through Defra’s Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme (NCEA). Users should ensure they have read the supporting documentation and caveats before viewing or making use of the data. This includes the 'NCEA Analysis Ready Data Limitations Statement' and dataset specific limitations/caveats outlined in the Sampling Framework report (see Section 17). Attribution statement: © Forestry Commission copyright and/or database right 2026. Contains data generated by NatureMetrics. All rights reserved.