SoilTemp: the global microclimate database

Traditional ecology has primarily relied on macroclimate data derived from standard weather stations, model outputs, or remote sensing. However, these datasets often have coarse spatial and temporal resolutions, failing to capture fine-scale processes. In contrast, microclimate data offer detailed and realistic climate information that is crucial for accurately assessing the effects of climate change on organisms and ecosystems, as well as for species distribution modeling. The SoilTemp project aims to address the global scarcity of microclimate data, providing researchers worldwide with the necessary tools and datasets to enhance ecological and biogeographical studies and predictions. With this poster, we aim to provide an overview of the current content of the rapidly growing SoilTemp database, on its way to open access publication. Here, we present summary statistics of approximately 19,000 unique locations currently in the database, show the structure of the emerging SQL database, and summarize the potential for data applications.