Sierra Nevada mountain range (southern Spain) hosts a high number of endemic plant species, being one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean basin. The high-mountain meadow ecosystems (borreguiles) harbour a large number of endemic and threatened plant species. In this data paper, we describe a dataset of the flora inhabiting this threatened ecosystem in this Mediterranean mountain. The dataset includes occurrence data for flora collected in those ecosystems in two periods: 1988-1990 and 2009-2013. A total of 11002 records of occurrences belonging to 19 orders, 28 families 52 genera were collected. 73 taxa were recorded with 29 threatened taxa. We also included data of cover-abundance and phenology attributes for the records. The dataset is included in the Sierra Nevada Global-Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this area.

A detailed vegetation analysis of managed and abandoned mountain meadows and pastures has been conducted in the area of Obergurgl, on the left side of the Gurgler Valley at altitudes between 1840 m and 2400 m a.s.l. The objective of the study was to record and describe both the areas still managedn in varous ways and the abandoned areas under the aspect of plant sociology, and to emphasise the connection between land use and vegetation. Therefore 110 vegetation records were made from 26.06.2007 to 18.08.2007.