The dataset contains soil temperature measured by using miniature data loggers buried in the substrate (at 10cm soil depth) in four summits of the northern Apennines. The data are available in 16 plots along an altitudinal gradient (1722-1978 m a.s.l.), starting from 2001 up to 2011 and it is continuously updated. The plots are arranged in the four summits at the four cardinal directions, thus 4 plots per summit.