Climate warming is occurring in high‐mountain areas at a faster rate than the global average. To escape the increasing temperatures, alpine species may shift in distribution upwards, threatening ...cold‐adapted nival plant specialists. However, little is known about the success of seedling emergence and establishment at high altitudes outside the current range, particularly in the highest mountain areas of the Himalayas.
We selected four native alpine species occurring around 4000 m a.s.l. and sowed seeds at the natural growing site (GS), at a high elevation site (HS; 5000 m a.s.l.) and at high elevation with soil from the growing site (HS‐S) in the Khumbu Valley, north‐eastern Nepal. We monitored seedling emergence and establishment for two consecutive years.
Seedling emergence and establishment varied between species. Emergence was similar between GS and HS and improved at HS‐S. Establishment was low at high elevations with all but one species having high mortality after winter. Seedling emergence of low elevation plants is possible at high elevations in the Everest region, indicating species may be able to shift their distribution range upwards. However, successful establishment may be limited by the soil and high winter mortality at high elevations, although not in all species.
Climate warming will potentially lead to upward migration of some Himalayan plant species, leading to altered community composition in high‐mountain areas.
Seedling recruitment and establishment in the Everest region is variable among species and is limited by soil quality and high winter mortality.
Habitat Directive is the core strategy of nature conservation in Europe aiming at halting biodiversity loss. In this study the results of the third Italian assessment regarding the conservation ...status (CS) of plants listed in the Habitat Directive (Flora of community interest—FCI) was presented. Data was collected from several sources related to plant distribution, population data, habitats and pressures. Following the official European procedure, all parameters were evaluated and combined to give the CS of each taxon in each biogeographical region of presence. A comparison between the recent Italian IUCN and Reporting assessments was performed in order to evaluate the consistency between these two assessments. The official EU checklist comprises 113 Italian plant taxa, 107 of which were examined in this study. Our results showed a critical situation with only 34% of favourable CS, while 50% were unfavourable (40% inadequate plus 10% bad) and 16% unknown, in particular in the Mediterranean bioregion, where the unfavourable assessments reach the 65%. The results of the Report were consistent with those of the IUCN assessment, in which 41.9% of plants were threatened with extinction. This report highlighted some benefits and criticisms at national level, but it may have a wider significance. Although a general advance of knowledge, a great effort is needed to reach the Habitats Directive goals. Despite the limited resources, monitoring activities needs to be improved in order to close information gaps for several plants. A positive outcome was the development of a specific national project funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment, with the ambitious target to set future monitoring activities for FCI and optimize monitoring efforts.
Background and AimsSeed longevity, a fundamental plant trait for ex situ conservation and persistence in the soil of many species, varies across populations and generations that experience different ...climates. This study investigates the extent to which differences in seed longevity are due to genetic differences and/or modified by adaptive responses to environmental changes.MethodsSeeds of two wild populations of Silene vulgaris from alpine (wA) and lowland (wL) locations and seeds originating from their cultivation in a lowland common garden for two generations (cA1, cL1, cA2 and cL2) were exposed to controlled ageing at 45 °C, 60 % relative humidity and regularly sampled for germination and relative mRNA quantification (SvHSP17.4 and SvNRPD12).Key ResultsThe parental plant growth environment affected the longevity of seeds with high plasticity. Seeds of wL were significantly longer lived than those of wA. However, when alpine plants were grown in the common garden, longevity doubled for the first generation of seeds produced (cA1). Conversely, longevity was similar in all lowland seed lots and did not increase in the second generation of seeds produced from alpine plants grown in the common garden (cA2). Analysis of parental effects on mRNA seed provisioning indicated that the accumulation of gene transcripts involved in tolerance to heat stress was highest in wL, cL1 and cL2, followed by cA1, cA2 and wA.ConclusionsSeed longevity has a genetic basis, but may show strong adaptive responses, which are associated with differential accumulation of mRNA via parental effects. Adaptive adjustments of seed longevity due to transgenerational plasticity may play a fundamental role in the survival and persistence of the species in the face of future environmental challenges. The results suggest that regeneration location may have important implications for the conservation of alpine plants held in seed banks.
ABSTRACT
Kosteletzkya pentacarpos seashore mallow, is recognised as an important plant species for several industrial applications, especially in North America and Asia. In Europe, seashore mallow is ...highly threatened and subject of conservation actions (e.g. reintroduction). In order to define appropriate multipurpose cultivation protocols, suitable for biomass production and for conservation purposes, we investigated the effect of varying levels of soil salt content and nutrient availability on seashore mallow. As expected, seashore mallow had the best performance in terms of growth rate, flowering and fruit production when fertiliser was applied, while salt had only limited effects. Interestingly, seeds produced by fertilised plants showed a lower germination performance and higher mortality than seeds developed from non‐fertilised plants. Our results highlight a trade‐off between parental plant growth and seed performance, the former being enhanced and the latter being reduced by fertiliser application. The causes of this trade‐off are related to a transgenerational maternal effect of fertiliser application that has important implications for seashore mallow cultivation. Biomass production benefits from fertiliser application but if the quality of seeds and the fitness of the next generation are major objectives (e.g. seed production and species conservation), fertiliser application is not recommended.
Crop Wild Relatives are often used to improve crop quality and yields because they contain genetically important traits that can contribute to stress resistance and adaptation. Seed germination of ...different populations of Aegilops geniculata Roth collected along a latitudinal gradient was studied under different drought stress in order to find populations suitable for improving drought tolerance in wheat. Different accessions of Aegilops neglecta Req. ex Bertol., Triticum aestivum L. and T. durum Desf. were used as comparison. Under full hydration, germination was high in all populations, but increasing drought stress led to reduced and delayed germination. Significant differences in final germination and mean time to germinate were detected among populations. Wheat, durum wheat and the southern population of Ae. geniculata were not significantly affected by drought stress, germinating similarly under all treatments. However, seed germination of the northern populations of Ae. geniculata was significantly reduced under high water stress treatment. Differences between populations of the same species could not be explained by annual rainfall across populations' distributions, but by rainfall during seed development and maturation. Differences in the germination responses to drought found here highlight the importance of source populations as criteria for genotype selection for pre-breeders.
Summary
Alien grape (Vitis, Vitaceae) species and recently described hybrids are recognised as major environmental weeds in southern Europe, based on their tendency to spread into natural and ...semi‐natural habitats, often behaving as invasive species. Despite a high number of agronomic, genetic and phytopathological studies on Vitis cultivars, regeneration from seed has been poorly investigated, although it plays a key role in plant distribution and evolution. To this end, in this study we exposed seeds of eight wild grapes in Europe (three species and five nothospecies, including the native Vitis vinifera), to different temperature treatments in the laboratory. Fresh seeds from all studied taxa were dormant and germinated only after cold and/or warm plus cold stratification, but showing significant differences between the species. Seeds of V. vinifera showed an intermediate complex morphophysiological dormancy, while all other tested Vitis taxa exhibited a deep complex morphophysiological dormancy. Dark conditions reduced the germination percentage in Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia and V. vinifera and their hybrids, and alternating temperatures elicited the highest germination percentages in all populations. Our results demonstrated for the first time that Vitis hybrids are capable of regeneration by seed, even in the absence of dispersal by animals. The germination processes studied here help understand the current expansion of alien Vitis taxa in Europe outside the viticultural areas. Consequently, germination requirements contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying alien Vitis taxa establishment and invasion.
The conservation of landraces in Europe is challenging because very often they have already disappeared or cannot be properly identified, which in turn prevents any possibility for their utilization. ...This work deals with the collection of molecular and historical data to identify and study the original landraces of common buckwheat (
Fagopyrum esculentum
Moench), locally cultivated in Northern Italy (Valtellina) and to date surviving among other commercial varieties, recently introduced in the same areas of the Alps. As plant materials of
F. esculentum
, we analyzed a number of Italian accessions along with two foreign accessions from Poland and Nepal, for a total of 174 individuals. Molecular investigations were based on a set of eight nuclear SSR marker loci. The mean observed heterozygosity over all accessions was equal to H
o
= 0.466, being significantly lower than the expected heterozygosity (H
e
= 0.764). A major finding was the recognition of a marked inbreeding rate (F
it
= 0.387) and a reduced fixation index (F
st
= 0.061), indicating that most genetic variation is found within populations. A significant overall gene flow among accessions was found (N
m
= 3.846). Results indicated that only two of the examined accessions, the so-called “Nustran” and “Curunin”, could be considered, authentic Valtellina landraces. On the basis of results, we successfully developed a multi-locus marker system and identified a number of co-dominant marker alleles suitable for genetic traceability and authenticity certification of a “Nustran” and a “Curunin” autochthonous landraces of Valtellina and its food derivatives (i.e., Pizzoccheri, Polenta taragna).
This study was the first to investigate the direct effects of anomalous concentrations of ozone mediated by summer heat waves on seed germination in alpine plants. During germination, the seeds were ...exposed to three peaks of O
3
concentration (125 ppb for 5 and 10 days; 185 ppb for 5 days), derived from measurements taken close to the species growing site. High O
3
concentration delayed the first germination time, increased the mean germination time, and reduced the germination percentage during and immediately after the treatment, but, in most cases, effects were weak and had almost vanished three weeks after the treatments. In few cases, chronic exposure to O
3
(125 for 10 days' treatment) enhanced seed germination compared to the control, suggesting that ozone may induce antioxidant and DNA-repair mechanisms or dormancy-breaking effects in hydrated seeds. Although seed mortality increased during O
3
treatments in four species, the effect of O
3
on seed germination is mostly limited to the period of exposure, indicating that it is unlikely to produce permanent negative effects on seeds, during the germination phase. Our results show that the direct effect of O
3
on seeds of alpine plants may have minor impacts on plant reproductive performance during seed germination.
Festuca s.l. is a crucial group of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) genera, globally employed as fodder, lawn grasses and for habitat restoration. Lists elaborated strictly on the basis of a taxonomic ...approach are urgently needed to be used to find gaps in existing ex situ collections, to assess the conservation status of taxa of ascertained utility and include them in national Red Lists and to identify the most valuable taxa to be included in "preservation mixtures", as per Commission Directive 2010/60/EU. As an example, the first taxonomically based priority list of Italian CWRs of Festuca s.l. is here provided.
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