ABSTRACT
Alpine species will be particularly vulnerable in the case of global warming because fragmentation of the landscape is high, their limited range and location on top of mountains. It is therefore crucial to evaluate their genetic diversity in order to estimate their adaptive potential. Studies that specifically address the genetic diversity of alpine plants are scarce. To measure genetic variability, one must obviously identify some genetically inherited traits. These can be directly observable morphological characters such as flower colour, leaf shape, size, and flowering time. The hypothesis that diversity decreases as selection pressures increase is obviously true for the selected characters, but is also expected for neutral characters if selection is very strong because genes are linked together on the chromosomes. Diversity and differentiation patterns seem related to the reproductive characteristics of the species rather than to elevation.
