We present a dataset resulting from the first round of a national monitoring program of forest reserves. It contains 9538 permanent plots, distributed across 111 study sites in mainland France (including Corsica). Notably focusing on dead wood measurement, this protocol has primarily been applied in strict forest reserves and special nature reserves (sensu Bollmann et Braunisch 2013), with 68% (6494) of the plots being currently located in strict forest reserves (unmanaged) and 24,7% (2363 plots) in forests unmanaged for at least 50 years. Sites cover a large variety of ecological conditions, from lowland to subalpine forests, but with an underrepresentation of Mediterranean forests (Table 1). The protocol assesses all the stages of a tree's life cycle, from seedling to decomposed lying dead wood. On each plot, a combination of three sampling techniques was used: (i) fixed area inventory for regeneration, standing dead trees, living trees and coarse woody debris (CWD) with diameter over 30 cm, (ii) transect lines for CWD with diameter 30 cm (using a relascopic angle of 3%). Measurements include: exact tree location (azimuth, distance), species, diameter(s), tree-related microhabitats, decay stage and bark cover, seedling cover. With the ongoing climate change, the program network can also provide important information to monitor changes in forest ecosystems. It can also be used as forest management monitoring or conservation status assessment.