Tree planting choices mediate wildfire damage to tropical forest restoration in eastern Madagascar

This dataset accompanies the manuscript “Tree planting choices mediate wildfire damage to tropical forest restoration in eastern Madagascar.” Between 2018 and 2023, the NGO Green Again Madagascar (GAM) established 0.25-ha restoration plantings at 46 sites near Toamasina, Madagascar. From 2020–2022, wildfires impacted 15 of these sites; 11 could be rapidly monitored post-fire and form the basis of this dataset. Each monitored site contained four 25×25 m treatment plots varying in (i) planting size (9×9 m island vs. 25×25 m block), (ii) density (1-m vs. 3-m spacing), and (iii) species composition (plots with fire-resilient species planted as an outer border vs. plots without that border).We recorded a rustic fire intensity index (0–7) based on scorching/char of standardized plot and tree markers, a fire severity index (0–4) per tree (leaf/stem scorch/char), tree survival 3–23 months post-fire to allow resprouting, and plot/site covariates (slope, planting age at fire, treatment, planting position within plot—edge vs. interior). Across 2,772 planted trees (27 native species), overall mortality was 75%, with large among-species differences (41–100%). Species composition had the strongest effect: plantings that included fire-resilient border species reduced overall mortality by ~72% relative to comparable dense plantings without those species, while planting size, density, and tree position showed little or no consistent effect on fire behavior or mortality. Fire intensity positively correlated with both severity and mortality.These data support trait-informed species selection for restoration in fire-prone tropical landscapes and document species-level responses (resistance, epicormic/basal resprouting) among poorly studied Malagasy trees.