The Microclimate DataBase (MDB)

The Microclimate Database (MDB) is the core data resource of the MEB community. It currently contains more than 100,000 microclimate time series from over 100 countries worldwide, contributed by more than 1,000 researchers and monitoring networks.

At the end of March 2026, the database will become largely open access, alongside the release of the associated database paper.

You can find the preprint here:
[coming soon]

For now, the microclimate component of the database is being made openly available. For a subset of sites, the MDB also contains associated biodiversity observations, which are currently not yet available as open access.

Data access is facilitated through the integrated web interface [coming soon]. Users can [soon] explore there the available datasets and request access by submitting a short project proposal, describing the intended use of the data.

Please note that a substantial portion of the data is still undergoing final quality control and harmonization before being uploaded to the public database. If you are looking for more data than is available through the interface, we recommend contacting us at meb-network@outlook.com, as additional unpublished datasets may be available to support your project.

Proposal review

Each data request is reviewed by the MDB database management committee, which consists of database managers as well as representatives of both data contributors and data users.

Most datasets are available under a CC-BY license, requiring users to:

  • cite the MDB database paper, and

  • cite the DOI of the specific dataset(s) used.

Some datasets have additional access restrictions, in which case the committee may seek approval from the original data owners before granting access.

The review process helps ensure appropriate data use, transparency, and avoids unnecessary overlap between ongoing research projects within the community.

Proposals are typically reviewed within 2–3 weeks.

Contributing data

If you would like to contribute your own microclimate data to the MDB (we highly recommend you to!), please see ‘How to submit data‘