The LifeWatch Italy Semantic Platform allows to search and access the LifeWatch Italy resources with the help of semantically enriched queries. It is based on a main semantic model that describes different resources and their metadata, as well as meaningful links between controlled vocabularies for Biodiversity and Ecosystems domain and resources of LifeWatch Italy. The platform is powered by a semantic search engine that can be used in two modes: simple or structured.

The LifeWatch Italy Citizen Science platform is a place for sharing knowledge, tools, training material and other resources for participatory projects in biodiversity and ecosystem research. It is a platform that facilitates citizens involvement in scientific activities and it includes different sections to provide: - basic knowledge on citizen science, on its potential and applications; - best practices and tutorials on the development and management of citizen science projects; - a catalogue of citizen science projects with an open-source webGIS for viewing initiatives on a map-based interface; - a tool for creating mini-sites for citizen science projects; - a customisable web application supporting citizen science activities related to the collection of geo-referenced observations; - integration between various components and services of LifeWatch Italy.

The LifeWatch Italy Data Portal is a national data infrastructure facilitating data sharing for biological and environmental research and making it accessible and reusable.

The size density relationships web service calculates and describes the relationships between size (total biovolume and total carbon content) and density for any given combination of spatial, temporal and taxonomic level of observations. The service works on datasets structured according to the Phytoplankton Data Template that can be selected by the GUI or uploaded by the researchers. The input file is in CSV format with some mandatory fields (density, biovolume or cell carbon content). Before selecting or uploading the input file, users have to specify some parameters (e.g., the trait to be used for the size distribution, the taxonomic level for the size distribution and the spatial and temporal levels for the clusterization of data). The web service provides as output a zip file containing two summary tables in csv format and a scatter plot.

The Traits Computation web service provides a user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) that allow researchers to run a workflow wrapped into R code for the computation of morphological and demographic traits, such as biovolume, surface area, surface-volume ratio, density, cell carbon content, density, carbon content and total biovolume. The service works on datasets structured according to the Phytoplankton Data Template that can be selected by the GUI or uploaded by the researchers. The input file is in CSV format with some mandatory fields according to the calculation type. Before selecting or uploading the input file, users have to specify some parameters (e.g., the calculation type, and the traits to be computed). The web service provides as output a file in .csv format, including all input data and the new calculated traits.

The size class distribution web service allows to visualize the distribution of phytoplankton in different size classes selected on the basis of logarithmic values of biovolume or carbon content. The service works on datasets structured according to the Phytoplankton Data Template that can be selected by the GUI or uploaded by the researchers. The input file is in CSV format with some mandatory fields (density, biovolume or cell carbon content). Before selecting or uploading the input file, users have to specify some parameters (e.g., the trait to be used for the ranked distribution, the logarithm base, the spatial and temporal levels for the clusterization of data). The web service provides as output a zip file containing a summary table in csv format and one or more bar plots according to the selected clusters.

The phytoplankton traits thesaurus (PhytoTraits) is a reference work which properly describes concepts, represented by terms, widely used in phytoplankton functional ecology, focusing on morpho-functional traits. It contains approximately 120 terms and related semantic properties, decided and established under the agreement of a scientific expert community. PhytoTraits, providing harmonized concepts with associated unique and persistent identifiers (URI, Uniform Resource Identifier), has the potential to significantly reduce the barriers to data discovery, integration, and exchange.

The LifeWatch Italy national node has realised the Phytoplankton Virtual Research Environment (Phyto VRE) for supporting researchers to address basic and applied studies on phytoplankton ecology at a level of resolution going from individual cells to whole assemblages. The Phyto VRE enables researchers to: - produce harmonised data on taxonomy and morphological traits by using the Atlas of Phytoplankton, Atlas of Shapes and Phytoplankton Traits Thesaurus; - access, download, and select LifeWatch Italy datasets (published through the LifeWatch Italy Data Portal and distributed by the LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue) or upload their own datasets structured according to the Phyto template based on the LifeWatch Italy Data Schema in order to execute the services included in the VRE; - faciliatate the computation of morphological and demographic traits (such as hidden dimension, biovolume, surface area, surface-volume ratio, cell carbon content, etc.) and investigate their distribution patterns at different levels of data aggregation (i.e. spatial, temporal, taxonomic) by means of services, which automate a set of operations written in the R language.

The new Italian Fauna Checklist updates the Checklist first published in the mid-1990s by Minelli et al. (1993-1995) in paper format, including 57.468 species (including “Protozoa”), 37.303 of which were insects. The new Checklist, which will exclude protozoans, is published exclusively online through the LifeWatch Italy Web Portal and will be continuously updated. The taxonomic classification, scientific name, author and year of description are provided for each species/subspecies, as well as the geographical distribution, the status of exclusivity (endemics) and allochthony, any taxonomic and distributive notes, pertinent literature and synonyms are also given.

The LifeWatch Italy national node has realised the Alien and Invasive Species Virtual Research Environment (Alien Species VRE) for supporting researchers to address basic and applied studies on ecosystem vulnerability to alien species arrival. The Alien Species VRE allows to: - access and download harmonised data on the national distribution of species of fauna and flora belonging to different habitats (marine, fresh and transitional waters, and terrestrial) published through the LifeWatch Italy Data Portal and distributed by the LifeWatch ERIC Metadata Catalogue; - upload their own datasets structured according to the LifeWatch Italy Data Schema in order to execute the service included in the VRE.