Carbon dioxide fluxes in Alpine grasslands at the Nivolet Plain, Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy 2017-2023.

We introduce a georeferenced dataset of Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Ecosystem Respiration (ER) and meteo-climatic variables (air and soil temperature, air relative humidity, soil volumetric water content, pressure, and solar irradiance) collected at the Nivolet Plain in Gran Paradiso National Park (GPNP), western Italian Alps, from 2017 to 2023. NEE and ER are derived by measuring the temporal variation of CO concentration obtained by the enclosed chamber method. We used a customised portable non-steady-state dynamic flux chamber, paired with an InfraRed Gas Analyser (IRGA) and a portable weather station, measuring CO fluxes at a number of points (around 20 per site and per day) within five different sites during the snow-free season (June to October).

Changes in Alpine Butterfly Communities during the Last 40 Years.

Our work aims to assess how butterfly communities in the Italian Maritime Alps changed over the past 40 years, in parallel with altitudinal shifts occurring in plant communities. In 2019, we sampled butterflies at 7 grassland sites, between 1300-1900 m, previously investigated in 2009 and 1978, by semi-quantitative linear transects. Fine-scale temperature and precipitation data elaborated by optimal interpolation techniques were used to quantify climate changes.