The Nouragues Ecological Research Station is a scientific station managed by Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. It is located at the heart of a tropical rain forest, in the Nouragues Natural Reserve, French Guiana. It is a privileged equipment for the study of the functioning of tropical forests and their biodiversity. The Nouragues station is organized around two permanent camps (Inselberg camp and Pararé camp), 8 km away from each other. These two sites are equipped to welcome scientists from a few days to several months.

The COPAS project (Canopy Operating Permanent Acces System) is a canopy-access system of a novel type. Three 45-m poles have been set up spaced about 180 m from each other in a triangular shape. They are linked through cables above the canopy. A one-person seat is hung to the system and motors permit the passenger to travel in three dimensions of space. The three towers represent a total footprint of ca. 1.5 ha. (Forecast date of operation : 2014)

The Pararé camp was created in 1995. It is located along the Arataye river, just downstream from a rapid (’saut’) that is difficult to pass by boat. The camp itself is an ensemble of traditional ’carbets’, including one for the laboratory and one for the kitchen. The maximum housing capacity is 18 people.

This dataset is contains herbarium specimens collected in the Dzanga-Sangha Reserve in the Central African Republic. These data are collected and used by David Harris at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, scientific collaboration are welcomed, please get in touch with a point of contact.

This dataset gathers the floristic composition in a network of about 100 transects across terra firme forests in Gabon, considering stems above or equal to 5 cm diameter at breast height. In each transect, the following data are collected : 1. Diameter at breast height (dbh), 2. Species identification. Herbarium samples are conserved at the Herbarium of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (BRLU, Belgium) and the database is frequently updated by ULB's botanists. 3. GPS geolocation. These data are collected and used by Evolutionnary Biology and Ecology unit from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), Central Africa Program.

The site Toponowini is composed of four 3km-transects (20m wide). 4603 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. 506 under-storey plants have been recorded on 20 25m²-plots by Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD). Soils have been described using 23 samples (1.20m depth max.). Laboratory analysis are available for two soil-profile.

The site Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) is composed of four 3km-transects (20m wide). 5007 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. No under-storey plants inventory available. Soils have been described using 21 samples (1.20m depth max.). No laboratory analysis available for soils.

The site Haute Beiman is composed of four 3km-transects (20m wide). 5207 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. 833 under-storey plants have been recorded on 44 25m²-plots. Soils have been described using 18 samples (1.20m depth max.). One laboratory analysis available for soils.

The site Manaré is composed of three 3km-transects (20m wide). 3401 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). Fauna inventories have been made by Office national de la chasse et de la faune sauvage (ONCFS) few days after. No under-storey plots on this site. Soils have been described using 2 samples (1.20m depth max.). No laboratory analysis available for soils.

The site Montagne Maripa is composed of one 3km-transects (20m wide). 960 trees with dbh>=20cm have been recorded by Office national des forêts (ONF). No fauna inventories. No under-storey plants inventory. No soils have been sampled on this site. No laboratory analysis available for soils.