Temperature station matching for elevation-standardised ecological meta-analysis

Abstract Standardising temperature data across heterogeneous study sites is essential for ecological meta-analyses, yet elevation-driven lapse rates often confound direct comparisons of coarse-grid climate data. Ecological studies frequently document only site altitude – particularly historical datasets – limiting analysis of thermal influences on spatial organism distribution. A dual-approach protocol was developed to derive regional correction factors (ΔH) from altitude-temperature regressions (Lapse Rate Method: SW Germany/Italian Alps, n=33 stations) and cross-regional station pairs (T AV Matching Method, n=27) with closely aligned long-term mean temperatures (ΔT AV ≤ 1.2°C). Applied to 109 Ixodes ricinus study sites across nine European regions, correction factors were calculated only for regions with consistent altitude shifts (ΔH > 100m) relative to Southwest German reference stations. Regional correction factors (ΔH) from both methods included +1300 m (Finland, T AV Matching), +370 m (Netherlands/NE Germany, T AV Matching), and −220 m (Italian Alps, Lapse Rate Method) across five regions. In total, 27 cross-regional T AV matched pairs demonstrated high matching precision (median ΔT AV = 0.05°C, 89 % ≤ 0.2°C). These factors standardised site altitudes to a common SW German thermal reference frame, enabling cross-site comparability. The dual-method protocol requires no automation and is applicable to any taxa with documented site altitudes. The complete methodological workflow - including station data, lapse rate regressions, matching decisions, and correction calculations is publicly available at Zenodo [DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18835116], providing ecologists with a pragmatic, fully reproducible template for elevation-standardised temperature estimation in meta-analyses.