Plantbank - integrated conservation in the Alpine environment

The conservation of a plant species is strictly dependent on knowledge of its biology and ecology. Considering the Alps as a scenario of great environmental changes, the Plantbank project aims to lay the foundations for a conservation that integrates different disciplines, from population genetics to germplasm conservation and propagation. The first step of the project involves analysing theliving collections of 12 botanical gardens distributed throughout the European Alps, in order to ascertain the number of species preserved there and highlight good practices for their care. A selected number of chasmophytic species (plants that grow in rock crevices) are being genetically studied to investigate their diversity among different populations. The possible presence of phenomena currently underway, such as population bottlenecks or isolation, is indeed essential in determining the conservation status of a species. The project therefore involves collecting seeds of these species for preservation in the Botanical Garden of Padua germplasm bank. This germplasm represents the possibility of obtaining new seedlings and reconstituting declining wild populations, following special germination and propagation protocols to be developed. Particular attention is paid to national or regional endemic species, namely those whose distribution is limited to all or part of Italy. Some target species belong to the Campanula, Pinguicula and Saxifraga genera.