Subalpine Plants Research Articles

Shifting alpine plant distributions with global change: Testing the environmental matching hypothesis

ABSTRACT Species facing novel temperature, precipitation, and nitrogen (N) deposition regimes must move or adapt to persist. For long-lived plants, a primary form of climate acclimation is through shifting geographic range limits or establishing in favorable microclimates. One commonly assumed but rarely tested hypothesis is that these shifts can be predicted by environmental matching: that the environmental characteristics that define a current distribution should predict how a population will shift with environmental changes. To test this hypothesis, we transplanted four alpine and two subalpine plant species into environments with experimentally increased temperature, snow, and N. We predicted that species would perform best when environmental change matched their geographic distributional characteristics: increased temperature, snow, and N (two subalpine species), increased temperature (two dry meadow specialists), and increased snow (two snowbed specialists). Our results provided limited support for the environmental matching hypothesis. Snowbed specialists did not benefit from increased snow, dry meadow specialists' performance did not consistently differ among the treatments, and subalpine plants' survival was not affected by treatments while their growth response was variable among species. Our results suggest that global change effects will vary among species and distributional shifts are not easily predicted by species environmental preference.

Phytocoenotical behaviour of nemoral and boreal-nemoral plant species in taiga zone communities

Phytocoenotic behaviour of 14 nemoral or boreal-nemoral vascular plant species is analyzed in the middle- and southern-taiga subzones in comparison with that in the broadleaved-forest zone, based upon the set of 1669 relevés made in European Russia in 1996–2018. The nemoral species are mainly represented by shadow mesoeutrophic plants from the “corteges” of Tilia cordata s. l. and Fagus sylvatica. The more light-demanding plants from the Quercus robur “cortege”, either mesotrophic, or mesoeutrophic, more often demonstrate the boreal-nemoral type of zonal distribution. In the boreal-forest zone, linden and beech companions are typical for the southern-boreal nemoral-herb / sorrel spruce (Picea abies s. l.) forests on placors as well as the valley / riparian tall-herb forests, including the middle-boreal ones. The oak companions also inhabit grass-feathermoss pine (Pinus sylvestris) forests, besides the spruce forest types mentioned. Species from all the named “corteges” are also common in the small-leaved forests. The Betula companions which grow together with the nemoral plants in boreal forests could also be subdivided into the two florogenetical groups, namely a) the boreal, originally subalpine plants and b) the boreal-nemoral ones, originally oak companions. Species from the latter group often become widespread and dominant in the small-leaved forests; a good example is provided by Aegopodium podagraria. The rank correlation (Spearman rS) analysis shows the projective cover increase is connected with either the growing season warmth supply, or the climate oceanicity for both nemoral and boreal-nemoral species. These effects are most sound in the placor community sequence from broadleaved forests to sorrel and then bilberry-feathermoss spruce ones but weakened in the tall-herb forests on rich soil and completely levelled in the aspen (Populus tremula) forests. Carbonate bedrock outcrops contribute to nemoral species survival in the areas they inhabited during the climatically favourable epochs; they also favoured the migration of these species during the interglacials. Individualization of coenotic patterns of nemoral species at their distribution limits does not contradict to joint occurrence of such plants in relict / extrazonal locations.

Open-top warming chambers reduce animal pollination of two subalpine herbs

Open top chambers (OTCs) are a popular method for studying the biological effects of climate change through passive heating, but their effects on biotic interactions are poorly understood, especially for pollination. Here we use the subalpine plants Delphinium nuttallianum and Potentilla pulcherrima to examine the possibility that the effects of OTCs on plant reproduction are not the result of warming but rather OTCs acting as barriers to pollinator movement. Pollinator observations were conducted and stigmas collected from plants inside and outside of OTCs in a meadow in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. Very few visitors were observed inside of OTCs, which led to severe reductions in visitation rates, by 92% in Delphinium and 85% in Potentilla. The number of conspecific pollen grains on stigmas was 73% lower in OTCs for Delphinium but not Potentilla, likely because it is capable of autogamous self-pollination. This study clearly shows that OTCs can reduce animal pollination, which is also likely to reduce plant reproductive output of outcrossing plants via decreases in the quantity or quality of pollen. OTCs may therefore confound effects of warming on plant reproduction with pollination effects. Although the unintended effects of OTCs on abiotic conditions are well-studied, this study highlights that their effects on biotic interactions require further investigation.

Alpine plant growth and reproduction dynamics in a warmer world.

Climate warming may stimulate growth and reproduction in cold-adapted plants, but also reduce their performance due to warming-induced drought limitation. We tested this theory using a unique experiment with the alpine forb Rumex alpinus. We examined how climate warming over the past four decades affected its annual rhizome growth, leaf production and flowering, and whether responses varied between alpine, subalpine and montane populations. Before the period of accelerated warming in the 1970s and 1980s, the primary limitation on growth had been cold temperatures and short growing seasons. Increased summer temperatures in the 1990s and 2000s enhanced rhizome growth and leaf production, but not flowering. Alpine and subalpine plants profit more than montane plants, currently producing three times longer annual rhizome increments and twice as many leaves as 40yr ago, and achieving nearly the same values as montane plants. During the warmest 2005-2015 period, growth became contingent on summer precipitation and began to decrease across all populations, likely due to an increasing water shortage in dense monospecific stands. Warming releases plants from cold limitations but induces water shortage. Rumex alpinus exceeds its thermal optimum and becomes water-limited as the climate warms. Our results suggest that warming-induced responses in alpine plants will not be one-sided shifts to higher growth and reproduction, but rather multidimensional and spatiotemporally variable.

Studies of NH4+ and NO3− uptake ability of subalpine plants and resource‐use strategy identified by their functional traits

The leaf economics spectrum (LES) is based on a suite of leaf traits related to plant functioning and ranges from resource‐conservative to resource‐acquisitive strategies. However, the relationships with root traits, and the associated belowground plant functioning such as N uptake, including nitrate (NO3−) and ammonium (NH4+), is still poorly known. Additionally, environmental variations occurring both in time and in space could uncouple LES from root traits. We explored, in subalpine grasslands, the relationships between leaf and root morphological traits for three dominant perennial grass species, and to what extent they contribute to the whole‐plant economics spectrum. We also investigated the link between this spectrum and NO3− and NH4+ uptake rates, as well as the variations of uptake across four grasslands differing by the land‐use history at peak biomass and in autumn. Although poorly correlated with leaf traits, root traits contributed to an economic spectrum at the whole plant level. Higher NH4+ and NO3− uptake abilities were associated with the resource‐acquisitive strategy. Nonetheless, NH4+ and NO3−‐uptake within species varied between land‐uses and with sampling time, suggesting that LES and plant traits are good, but still incomplete, descriptors of plant functioning. Although the NH4+:NO3− uptake ratio was different between plant species in our study, they all showed a preference for NH4+, and particularly the most conservative species. Soil environmental variations between grasslands and sampling times may also drive to some extent the NH4+ and NO3− uptake ability of species. Our results support the current efforts to build a more general framework including above‐ and below‐ground processes when studying plant community functioning.

Nitrate or not nitrate. That is the question

A recommendation of: Legay Nicolas, Grassein Fabrice, Arnoldi Cindy, Segura Raphaël, Laîné Philippe, Lavorel Sandra, Clément Jean-Christophe Studies of NH4+ and NO3- uptake ability of subalpine plants and resource-use strategy identified by their functional traits https://doi.org/10.1101/372235

Foliar uptake of atmospheric nitrate by two dominant subalpine plants: insights from in situ triple-isotope analysis.

The significance of foliar uptake of nitrogen (N) compounds in natural conditions is not well understood, despite growing evidence of its importance to plant nutrition. In subalpine meadows, N-limitation fosters the dominance of specific subalpine plant species, which in turn ensures the provision of essential ecosystems services. Understanding how these plants absorb N and from which sources is important in predicting ecological consequences of increasing N deposition. Here, we investigate the sources of N to plants from subalpine meadows with distinct land-use history in the French Alps, using the triple isotopes (Δ17 O, δ18 O, and δ15 N) of plant tissue nitrate (NO3- ). We use this approach to evaluate the significance of foliar uptake of atmospheric NO3- (NO3-atm ). The foliar uptake of NO3-atm accounted for 4-16% of the leaf NO3- content, and contributed more to the leaf NO3- pool after peak biomass. Additionally, the gradual 15 N enrichment of NO3- from the soil to the leaves reflected the contribution of NO3-atm assimilation to plants' metabolism. The present study confirms that foliar uptake is a potentially important pathway for NO3-atm into subalpine plants. This is of major significance as N emissions (and deposition) are predicted to increase globally in the future.

Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of fungi along primary successional and elevational gradients near Mount Robson, British Columbia

The taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of fungi associated with dead leaves of alpine and subalpine plants were quantified along primary successional and elevational gradients in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada, to test the sensitivity of fungal diversity, functioning, and community assembly to environmental changes in a cold region. A total of 330 fungal operational taxonomic units were detected by metabarcoding of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA, and among them saprotrophs were the dominant functional guild. Terrain age at the glacier foreland and plant taxa of dead leaves significantly affected taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity indices. The increase in values of standardized effective size of the mean nearest taxon distance as a phylogenetic diversity index of fungal communities suggested a shift from phylogenetic clustering to phylogenetic overdispersion in fungal communities after the glacier retreat. The elevation, which ranged from 874 m to 1668 m above sea level, did not affect the taxonomic, functional, or phylogenetic fungal diversity. Studying phylogenetic and functional diversity as aspects of fungal diversity provided useful insights into novel assembly and functional patterns of fungi in a cold region that could not be detected only by observing taxonomic diversity.

Leaf-level physiology in four subalpine plants in tephra-impacted forests during drought

Ecological impacts of climate change in the Pacific Northwest may hinge on acclimation to drier summers, highlighting the importance of plant physiological studies in forests. Evaluating dominant forest plant species under old-growth and managed forest conditions is similarly important as timber harvest might change microclimates and alter drought effects on plants. We examined water potential and gas exchange rates of four dominant plant species in understories of subalpine forests of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States during 2015 — a year with drought conditions representative of future climate projections. We examined two conifer species (Abies amabilis Douglas ex J. Forbes and Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) and two huckleberry species (Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr. and Vaccinium ovalifolium Sm.) in old-growth and formerly clear-cut forests at two elevations. Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence of hydraulic stress, and there were no significant differences between old-growth and clear-cut stands, consistent with an edaphic buffering effect in this volcanic landscape. Variation in stem elongation rates among years also indicated the lack of a strong drought response in 2015. Water potential, photosynthesis, and stomatal conductance varied among species and among elevations. In combination, our results help constrain expected physiological activity of understory species in subalpine forests and emphasize the importance of the edaphic context (e.g., tephra deposits) in framing expectations for the responses to drought.

지리산국립공원 세석지역의 아고산 관속식물상

This study was conducted to investigate the vascular plants which can be an indicator of environmental change in Seseok of Jirisan National Park. The purpose of this study was to find out the basic information for the subalpine species. This study showed that the area had a total 295 taxa including 63 families, 177 genus, 252 species, 2 subspecies, 36 variants 5 forms and Pte-Q was 1.7. Among them, Korea endemic plants were 15 taxa such as Abies koreana. Rare plants were 14 taxa such as Viola diamantiaca. Naturalized plants consisted of 5 taxa such as Rumex crispus. The floristic regional indicator plants found in surveyed area were 72 taxa comprising 3 taxa of grade Ⅴ, 7 taxa of grade Ⅳ and 24 taxa of grade Ⅲ. In summary, The subalpine plants of the survey region consisted of 37 taxa including Abies koreana and Gymnadenia cucullata. As rare plants distributed in subalpine zone respond sensitively to climate change, accuracy distribution range, environmental characteristics of habitat and population dynamics of rare plants should be evaluated quantitatively.

Earlier snowmelt accompanied by warmer soil temperatures in mid-latitude aspen forest and subalpine meadow: Implications for soil carbon

An advance in snowmelt timing in seasonally snow covered ecosystems has a wide range of potential impacts on plant and soil processes. Plants may respond to earlier melt through changes in phenology and altered allocation of resources to growth and reproduction, and earlier snowmelt may impact active pools of soil C such as microbial biomass and dissolved organic C (DOC). In subalpine aspen forests and open meadows in the Wasatch Plateau of the western Rocky Mountains, we manipulated snowmelt timing by adding dust to the snow surface. We obtained a treatment-induced snow-free interval of 6 to 22 days (3% to 11% reduction in snow-covered days). We observed the growth of early and mid-season herbaceous species, measuring above ground biomass, flower and seed counts, and seed mass. We also monitored microbial biomass, DOC, and soil respiration in the days and weeks following snowmelt. We observed generally warmer soil temperatures in the early snowmelt plots compared to controls. However, we found no difference in microbial biomass C or DOC following snowmelt and we found no legacy effect in growing season soil respiration as a result of earlier snowmelt. After three years of repeated treatments, total soil organic C remained unchanged between treatment and control plots. Although earlier snowmelt is likely to have a variety of impacts on subalpine ecosystems, we found no change in plant biomass or reproductive allocation and we found that carbon pools and fluxes were not perturbed by earlier snowmelt. A common expectation is that earlier snowmelt will lead to more frequent freeze-thaw cycles in soils, and studies have shown that freeze-thaw events can have significant but temporary impacts on soil C efflux. This study indicates that subalpine plants and soils may be at least partially buffered from some of the anticipated effects of earlier snowmelt. One direction of continuing research may be to identify adaptive buffers in subalpine ecosystems, an understanding of which may be useful in anticipating and responding to future climate change.

Ozone and Nitrogen Effects on Juvenile Subalpine Plants: Complex Interactions with Species and Colonization by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF)

Increasing concentrations of tropospheric ozone and reactive nitrogen threaten the composition and function of semi-natural plant communities. Using a free-air fumigation system, we investigated the effects of elevated ozone (1.73 × ambient concentration; +O3) and nitrogen (+50 k g N ha year−1; +N) deposition on growth of juveniles of three subalpine grassland species and their colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in situ. In a subsample, the extra-radical mycelium was regularly disrupted to determine the effect of AMF on the plants’ pollutant sensitivity. The plants reacted sensitively to the pollutants: +N increased shoot growth in Festuca rubra, while +O3 decreased root growth in Trifolium alpinum and F. rubra. Colonization with AMF was stimulated by N in Leontodon helveticus and was strongly reduced by O3 in F. rubra and L. helveticus, probably due to lower carbon allocation belowground. Conversely, AMF did not protect plants from O3 neither did they increase the species’ responsiveness to N. Our results indicate that irrespective of AMF colonization, juvenile plants are highly sensitive to O3 stress, probably since their growth is primarily limited by carbon assimilation.

Relative importance of habitat filtering and limiting similarity on species assemblages of alpine and subalpine plant communities.

This study examined how habitat filtering and limiting similarity affect species assemblages of alpine and subalpine plant communities along a slope gradient on Mt. Norikura in central Japan. Plant traits (plant height, individual leaf area, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf linearity, leaf nitrogen and chlorophyll concentrations) and abiotic environmental factors (elevation, slope inclination, ground surface texture, soil water, soil pH, soil nutrient concentrations of NH4-N and NO3-N) were examined. The metrics of variance, range, kurtosis and the standard deviation of neighbor distance divided by the range of traits present (SDNDr) were calculated for each plant trait to measure trait distribution patterns. Limiting similarity was detected only for chlorophyll concentration. By contrast, habitat filtering was detected for individual leaf area, SLA, leaf linearity, chlorophyll concentration. Abiotic environmental factors were summarized by the principal component analysis (PCA). The first PCA axis positively correlated with elevation and soil pH, and negatively correlated with sand cover, soil water, NH4-N and NO3-N concentrations. High values of the first PCA axis represent the wind-exposed upper slope with lower soil moisture and nutrient availabilities. Plant traits changed along the first PCA axis. Leaf area, SLA and chlorophyll concentration decreased, and leaf linearity increased with the first PCA axis. This study showed that the species assemblage of alpine and subalpine plants was determined mainly by habitat filtering, indicating that abiotic environmental factors are more important for species assemblage than interspecific competition. Therefore, only species adapting to abiotic environments can distribute to these environments.

Climatic niche breadth can explain variation in geographical range size of alpine and subalpine plants

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the environmental factors determining the distribution of species with different range sizes can provide valuable insights for evolutionary ecology and conservation biology in the face of expected climate change. However, little is known about what determines the variation in geographical and elevational ranges of alpine and subalpine plant species. Here, we examined the relationship between geographical and elevational range sizes for 80 endemic rhododendron species in China using Spearman’s rank-order correlation. We ran the species distribution model – maximum entropy modelling (MaxEnt) – with 27 environmental variables. The importance of each variable to the model prediction was compared for species groups with different geographical and elevational range sizes. Our results showed that the correlation between geographical and elevational range sizes of rhododendron species was not significant. Climate-related variables were found to be the most important factors in shaping the distributional ranges of alpine and subalpine plant species across China. Species with geographically and elevationally narrow ranges had distinct niche requirements. For geographical ranges, the narrow-ranged species showed less tolerance to niche conditions than the wide-ranged species. For elevational ranges, compared with the wide-ranged species, the narrow-ranged species showed an equivalent niche breadth, but occurred at different niche position along the environmental gradient. Our findings suggest that over large spatial extents the elevational range size can be a complementary trait of alpine and subalpine plant species to geographical range size. Climatic niche breadth, especially the range of seasonal variability, can explain species’ geographical range sizes. Changes in climate may influence the distribution of rhododendrons, with the effects likely being felt most by species with either a narrow geographical or narrow elevational range.

Frost sensitivity of leaves and flowers of subalpine plants is related to tissue type and phenology

Summary Harsh abiotic conditions – such as low temperatures that lead to spring and summer frost events in high‐elevation and high‐latitude ecosystems – can have strong negative consequences for plant growth, survival and reproduction. Despite the predicted increase in episodic frost events under continued climate change in some ecosystems, our general understanding of the factors associated with frost sensitivity of reproductive and vegetative plant structures in natural plant communities is limited. The timing of growth and reproduction may be an important strategy by which plants can avoid frost. In this study, we experimentally investigated the frost sensitivity of eight long‐lived perennial herbaceous plant species from a subalpine ecosystem in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA. The study taxa represent four congeneric pairs from four flowering plant families; within each pair, there is a species with early and late growth and reproductive phenology. Thus, we control for evolutionary history – and therefore additional traits shared through common ancestry – to some degree, while examining the influence of phenology on frost sensitivity. Specifically, we compared frost sensitivity of vegetative and reproductive structures for each species and asked whether frost sensitivity was similar between species within congeneric pairs or, instead, was related to phenology (i.e. differences in the timing of growth and reproduction). For most species (6 of 8), flowers were more sensitive to frost than leaves. Within most congeneric pairs (3 of 4), the leaves of species with later phenology were significantly more sensitive to frost than the leaves of species with earlier phenology. For flowers, the later flowering species were more sensitive in two of the four congeneric pairs. Synthesis. This study contributes to our general understanding of factors related to interspecific differences in plant sensitivity to episodic frost events of naturally occurring species. The increased frost sensitivity of reproductive structures compared to vegetative structures may be a widespread pattern for long‐lived perennial plants. Furthermore, we find evidence for a trade‐off between phenology and frost sensitivity, whereby species with later phenology exhibit higher frost sensitivity compared to species with earlier phenology. These results have implications for plant populations, species interactions and ecological communities.

Phenology of plants in relation to ambient environment in a subalpine forest of Uttarakhand, western Himalaya.

Observations on phenology of some representative trees, shrubs, under-shrubs and herbs in a subalpine forest of Uttarakhand, western Himalaya were recorded. With the commencement of favorable growth season in April, occurrence of leaf fall was indicatory growth phenomenon in Quercus semecarpifolia, Q. floribunda and Abies spectabilis. However, active vegetative growth in herbaceous species starts onward April and fruit maturation and seed dehiscence are completed from mid of September to October. In general, vegetative growth and reproductive stages in majority of the studied species seems to be dependent on adequate moisture content and also flowering and fruiting in subalpine plants correlate ambient temperature.

남덕유산의 식물상

ABSTRACT : We investigated the flora of Mt. Namdeogyu, southern regions of Deogyusan National Park, fromApril of 2011 to September of 2012. The number of vascular plants in this area were summarized as 507 taxa,including 102 families, 296 genera, 444 species, 8 subspecies, 49 varieties, 6 forms. Among the recorded taxa,Korean endemic plants were 9 species and the floristic regional indicator plants were 80 taxa including 3 taxa ingrade V, 3 taxa in grade IV, 19 taxa in grade III category. The rare and endangered plants which was designatedby Korea Forest Service were 15 taxa comprising 1 endangered species (EN) of Rhododendron tschonoskii, 5taxa of vulnerable (VU) such as Cynanchum inamoenum, Lilium cernuum, Gastrodia elata, Bupleurum euphor-bioides, Paeonia japonica, and 9 least concerned (LC). In addition, the subalpine plants of the region were sum-marized as 24 taxa, and Mt. Deogyu area inclunding the Mt. Namdeogyu was suggested as the north most limitsline of the distribution for 2 taxa, Abies koreana and Rhododendron tschonoskii, and as the south most limit ofthe distribution for Bupleurum euphorbioides.

제주 한라산에서 서식하는 미기록종 버섯

제주도에서 발견된 4종 버섯 Amanita gemmata, Tricholoma aurantiipes, Panellus violaceofulvus, Leucopaxillus septentrionalis에 대하여 국내에서 처음으로 보고하였다. 이들 버섯의 전체적 형태 및 미세구조의 특징을 조사하였다. A. gemmata와 T. aurantiipes는 제주 관음사 주변의 상록활엽수가 서식하는 지상에서 발견되었으며, 전자는 만장굴 입구에서도 발생하였다. P. violaceofulvus은 한라산에 서식하는 Abies koreana와 Carpinus laxiflora와 같은 고산성 나무에서 채집되었고, L. septentrionalis은 탐라계곡 주변의 낙엽성 활엽수림에서 발견되었다. Four species such as Amanita gemmata, Tricholoma aurantiipes, Panellus violaceofulvus, and Leucopaxillus septentrionalis which were found in Jeju Island, are first reported in Korea. Four species were identified with macro- and microscopic descriptions and distinctive characters are presented for each species. A. gemmata and T. aurantiipes were collected in evergreen broadleaf forest of Gwaneumsa and the former also founded in Manjanggul. P. violaceofulvus was collected in subalpine plants including Abies koreana and Carpinus laxiflora of Halla Mountain. And L. septentrionalis recorded in deciduous broadleaf forest of Tamla valley.

Germination and Seedling Responses of Subalpine Plants to Different Soil Substrates

In this study we explored the regeneration niche of 18 alpine plant species by testing the germination responses and seedling growth to soil mixtures made with gypsum, ophiolite, and quartzite, and a control soil. We analyzed different phases of germination: time of radicle emergence, germination duration, and germination percentage, and thereafter seedling performance measured using seedling biomasses. Species were grouped as acidophilous, basophilous and neutrophilous according to their Ellenberg indicator values. Seeds were germinated on each soil mixture in a greenhouse, and then seedlings were selected and transplanted outdoors to grow for one season at 2,050 m a.s.l. The time of radicle emergence, length of germination, final germination percentage, seedling biomass and specific leaf area (SLA) varied according to the soil mixtures depending on the pH group. There were some consistencies between the Ellenberg groups, which were built for adult plant species, and the way these seedlings responded to a particular soil mixture. For instance, the group of species predominantly occurring in basic soils during their adult life (basophilous) had the highest germination percentage and the shortest emergence time on the soil mixture composed of gypsum, but a low germination percentage and the smallest seedling biomass on the other two soil mixtures. In addition, the decrease in SLA for seedlings of the basophilous group when they were cultivated on acidic soil (especially quartzite) seems to indicate a weaker functioning of the plants. Our results highlight, first, the significance of the regeneration niche in the establishment of plants in a given soil environment, especially by emphasizing the links between germination and soil chemistry, and secondly, the consideration that different germination phases add more information about the plant community assemblage with respect to the soil environment.

Pattern of genetic differentiation in Gentiana pannonica Scop.: did subalpine plants survive glacial events at low altitudes in Central Europe?

The molecular population structure of 20 populations of the subalpine plant Gentiana pannonica was studied by use of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and sequencing of non-coding regions of plastid DNA. Of the populations sampled, 18 were native (11 were from the Eastern Alps, which is the distribution centre of the species, and seven were from the Bohemian Forest, which is on the margin of the distribution range), and two were from the Giant Mts and of unclear status. No plastid DNA polymorphisms were found within the entire 6,185 bp investigated. The AFLP data revealed grouping of populations at the regional level. However, differentiation at the regional level (10.3 %) and at the interpopulation level (14.2 %) was low. Even though current populations are isolated and contain small numbers of individuals, the within-population variation (75.511 %) was high. Genetic variation was higher for alpine populations than for Bohemian Forest populations, probably because of fundamental differences in historical changes in population size between these regions. Within-population variation was intermediate for populations in the Giant Mts. The results indicate the possibility of a large distribution of species in the unglaciated areas of Central Europe, irrespective of altitude, during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Our results do not confirm that G.pannonica was introduced in the Giant Mts, and native status in the Giant Mts is possible.