Temporal patterns of stream biofilm in a mountain catchment: one-year monthly samplings across streams of the Orobic Alps (Northern Italy)

The database contains biological and environmental data collected during a survey carried across 5 stream sites of the Serio watershed (Orobic Alps, Italy) named site S, G, U, D and N.

At each stream site, a monthly sampling was carried out during a one-year campaign, from June 2020 to May 2021, providing 60 samples of ephilitic biofilm. Biofilm was analyzed in terms of total biomass, pigment content (chlorophyll A, B, and carotenoids), and periphyton composition (green algae, red algae, cyanobacteria, and diatoms).

The data have been used in the article: "Temporal patterns of stream biofilm in a mountain catchment: one-year monthly samplings across streams of the Orobic Alps (Northern Italy)" written by Luca Bonacina and colleagues published in Hydrobiologia, 10.1007/s10750-023-05399-w.

Site info:

-SITE (name of the site)

-LONGITUDE (longitude)

-LATITUDE (latitude)

-ALTITUDE (altitude, m a.s.l)

-MONTH (month of the sampling)

-YEAR (year of the sampling)

Biofilm info:

-Perc_Cyanobacteria (relative percentage of cyanobacteria)

-Perc_Green algae (relative percentage of Green algae)

-Perc_Diatoms (relative percentage of Diatoms)

-Perc_Red Algae (relative percentage of Red Algae)

-Chlorophyll_a (density of Chlorophyll a, mg/m²)

-Carotenoids (density of Carotenoids, mg/m²)

-Chlorophyll_b (density of Chlorophyll b, mg/m²)

-Shannon_Index (Shannon index applied to the relative abundance of periphyton groups)

-Authrophic_Index (Authrophic_Index calculated on the biofilm)

Environmental info:

-HABITAT (Stream habitat availability calculated with the Shannon index applied to the relative abundance of microhabitats)

-O2 (oxygen saturation, %)

-DO (dissolved oxygen, mg/l)

-CE (electrical conductivity, uS/cm)

-NNO3 (nitric nitrogen, mg/l)

-NNH4 (ammonia nitrogen, mg/l)

-Ptot (total phosphorous, mg/l)

-COD (Chemical oxygen demand, mg/)

-pH

-HLIGHT (hours of light/day of the 30 days antecedent of each sampling, h)

-TMean (daily mean water temperature of the 30 days antecedent of each sampling, °C)

-EXPOSURE (percentage of the open sky of the monitoring stream site, based on photographic pictures of the surrounding trees (0% = full canopy, 100% = no canopy)

-Annual_Thermal_Variability (annual water thermal maximum-annual water thermal minimum based on mean daily water temperatures, °C)