Monthly topsoil and near surface microclimate temperature data for Switzerland

Climate data matching the scales at which organisms experience climatic conditions are often missing. Yet, such data on microclimatic conditions are required to better understand climate-change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Here we combine a national network of microclimate temperature measurements with a novel radiative transfer model to map monthly minimum, mean and maximum temperatures during the vegetation period at a 10 meter spatial resolution across Switzerland. The temperature measurements took place in 107 sampling plots distributed across different habitat types, with 62 plots in forests, 22 below trees outside forests, and 23 in open grasslands. In each plot we measured temperature in the topsoil (-5cm), as well as in the air at 5cm and 100cm height above ground. Spatial interpolation was achieved by using a hybrid approach based on linear mixed effects models with input from detailed radiation estimates that account for topographic and vegetation shading, as well as other predictor variables related to the macroclimate, topography and vegetation height. Our data reveals strong horizontal and vertical variability in microclimate temperature, particul