Repeated large-scale forest inventory data from an unmanaged European beech forest at Hainich National Park, Germany

This dataset contains forest inventory data from four censuses (1999, 2007, 2013 and 2023) from a single ~28 ha permanent monitoring plot in a beech-dominated forest that has been unmanaged since 1965 at Hainich National Park, Thuringia, Germany. For each census, the location, species identity and diameter at breast height (dbh) of all living trees with a dbh ≥1 cm was recorded. Additional attributes for living trees include vitality, crown coverage by neighboring trees, sociological class, and observed damages. For trees that died since the previous census, information on cause of mortality, degree of decay and stem integrity is provided for some censuses. This dataset enables analyses of the dynamics of unmanaged Central European beech-dominated forests over more than two decades.