Plant ecology studies on endemic plants of the Southwestern Alps and conservation and monitoring activities on endangered populations

Mountain endemic plants persist in systems where broad bioclimatic gradients interact with local habitat conditions. This thesis examines this relationship in the Ligurian-Maritime Alps through two complementary ecological case studies and an applied conservation component developed within the LIFE SeedForce project. The first case study focuses on Gentiana ligustica, a narrow endemic distributed across a Mediterranean-Alpine gradient, and tests whether contrasting macroclimatic settings correspond to differences in soil, microhabitat, associated vegetation and morphometric traits. The second addresses five taxa of Campanula sect. Heterophylla and evaluates differentiation across geographical, climatic, microhabitat and plant-community spaces. The analyses combined occurrence-based site selection, replicated vegetation sampling, quantitative microsite description, Ellenberg-based community descriptors, morphometric measurements for G. ligustica, overlap analyses for Campanula and targeted soil analyses for G. ligustica. Results showed that G. ligustica maintains a largely stable local abiotic niche across the gradient, remaining associated with alkaline, base-rich substrates and semi-vegetated rocky microsites. Differences emerged mainly in the associated vegetation, which changed along elevation and bioclimatic context, and in morphology: Mediterranean individuals showed taller flowering stems and longer corolla lobes, whereas Alpine individuals were shorter and had wider corollas. In Campanula sect. Heterophylla, relationships among taxa were multidimensional and pair-specific. Microhabitat differentiation occurred within a shared rocky template, while plant-community space revealed clearer ecological separation among several taxa. Campanula sabatia was the most distinct taxon, whereas C. cochleariifolia and C. stenocodon formed the closest pair. Overall, the two case studies show that regional-scale descriptors are insufficient, on their own, to fully explain either persistence within species or differentiation among related mountain taxa. Local ecological characterisation is therefore essential for interpreting plant-environment relationships and informing conservation practice. This perspective was extended to conservation actions for G. ligustica, C. sabatia and Acis nicaeensis in selected Ligurian SACs, including monitoring, germplasm collection, propagation, site preparation and translocation-related activities.