LTER_EU_IT_025: Vegetation monitoring by 10x10 permanent plots

The present dataset comprises observations spanning from 1993 to 2023, focusing on biotic parameters collected from six permanent plots included into the LTER site "Appennino Centrale: Velino-Duchessa" (https://deims.org/12c79ecb-7890-4b75-9655-0883dacd8a29), located in Central Italy above the timberline (2125-2225 m a.s.l.). Specifically, it includes a synthesis of phytosociological relevés collected, according the Braun-Blanquet approach (coverage scale as modified by Pignatti) in 6 permanent plots of 10x10 m (https://deims.org/dataset/0c540fe8-1984-11e5-a766-005056ab003f), representative of two high-elevation plant communities (alpine tundra, Saxifrago speciosae-Silenetum ceniasiae, and snow-bed grassland, Trifolio thalii-Festucetum microphyllae). Species are named according to Flora d'Italia (Pignatti, 1982). The site, managed by Carabinieri, Forest and Environmental Protection Department, is part of the site "IT01-Apennines-High elevation Ecosystems-Italy" (https://deims.org/70b5c2bd-b0c3-4132-8988-f527893bfa42) which belongs to the Long Term Ecological Research national and international networks (LTER-Italy, LTER-Europe and ILTER). The data collection started in 1993 and it is continuously updated every year.