Plant and carabid beetle survey data was collected in the summer of 2018 and bird survey data in the summer of 2019 in Glen Affric and Glen Moriston in the Scottish Highlands. Data was collected using a 10 × 10 m plot in each reforestation site for plants and carabid beetles and a 50 m radius plot for birds. The same data was collected in a matched plot in an unforested, grazed area associated with each site and in a matched plot in an unforested area within the fenced site. Five pairs of plots were established in grazed and ungrazed mature Caledonian pineforest, the target of reforestation, to assess the value of the reforestation sites for biodiversity, relative to the unforested state and the target habitat. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/d31bcee5-736b-4aed-bda2-c11cacd5dfc7
