For the past five years, I have led SoilTemp, the global database of microclimate data. I have witnessed its evolution from humble beginnings to a robust repository housing close to a 100,000 microclimate time series from around the world, several of which are linked to vegetation data from the same locations.

As the database has grown, so too has the variety of use cases. Researchers across microclimate studies, ecology, and beyond are increasingly reaching out to use all that data for a variety of needs. Many, for example, aim to connect in-situ microclimate data from SoilTemp to vegetation data to assess the buffering effects of vegetation or to explore how species distributions are influenced by microclimate.

But what if we could simplify this connection between the two? Currently, data contributors must format and upload their vegetation data to our database, creating redundancy when the same data exists in other databases. This reformatting leads to unnecessary duplication of effort.

Ideally, we wouldn’t need to reformat and resubmit vegetation data stored elsewhere; instead, we could directly access and extract it from those databases themselves!

That is my new BIG dream: to create a way to link existing ecological databases together for easy querying. For example, if I want temperature data from Dutch forests along with vegetation data from the same locations, I envision selecting coordinates and associated parameters on an online dashboard and sending requests to both SoilTemp and any open-access vegetation database that shares the same location. Or if I wish to model the impact of microclimate on root traits, I could reach out to a connected trait database for relevant data from nearby locations.

Wouldn’t that be incredible? I envision a nice and friendly user interface – an RShiny-app perhaps – where users could select locations and receive a list of ecological parameters stored in various open-access databases. These parameters could be from the exact same location, linked by their location name, or from a location nearby, sharing similar coordinates.

So, who’s with me in making this a reality? Are there database managers interested in collaborating on such a ‘SpiderWeb of Ecological Databases’ (SWED)? Or does a similar framework already exist, and we should simply connect SoilTemp to it? (Even better!)

We have some ideas on how to make this happen, but I want to hear from you first! Do you think this would be useful? What features should this imagined ‘SWED’ include? Am I reinventing the wheel, or is this concept as timely as I believe? Please share your thoughts!