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In the European GLORIA project, 12 summits (treeline to nival belt) were inventoried in three regions of Switzerland: two in the Swiss National Park Graubünden and one in Valais. Vascular plants were recorded in all three regions and bryophytes and lichens were recorded only in Valais. On each summit, vegetation and temperature data were sampled using sampling protocols for the GLORIA project (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine environment) on large summit sections and in clusters of four 1 9 1-m quadrats. We observed a general decrease of species richness for all three systematic groups with increasing elevation in the summit sections, but only for vascular plants in the quadrats. In Valais, there was higher species richness for vascular plants than for bryophytes and lichens on the lower summits, but as the decrease in species richness was less pronounced for cryptogams, the latter were more numerous than vascular plants on the highest summit. Vascular species showed a clear shift of the dominant life form with elevation, with chamaephytes replacing hemicryptophytes. Bryophytes and lichens showed a weak trend among the life forms at the summit section scale, but a stronger shift of the dominant forms was seen in the quadrats, with cushion replacing turf bryophytes and crustaceous replacing fruticose lichens. Altogether, these results sustain the temperature-physiographic hypothesis to explain the species richness decrease along the altitudinal gradient: the harsh climatic conditions of the alpine-nival belts act as a filter for species, but the diminishing diversity of microhabitats is also an important factor. Because cryptogams depend more on humidity than temperature and more on smaller microhabitats than vascular plants, the decrease of species richness is more gradual with elevation for bryophytes and lichens. Responsible editor: Sonja Wipf. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (Keywords Altitude Á Aspect Á Diversity Á Elevation range Á Life forms Á Switzerland Gradient subalpin-nival de la richesse spécifique des plantes vasculaires, bryophytes et lichens dans les Alpes internes en SuisseRésumé Dans le cadre du projet européen GLORIA, 12 sommets (de la limite de la forêt à l'étage nival) ont été inventoriés dans trois régions de Suisse: deux dans le Parc national suisse (Grisons) et une en Valais. Les plantes vasculaires ont été étudiées dans les trois régions alors que les bryophytes et lichens n'ont été considérés qu'en Valais. Le protocole du projet GLORIA (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine environment) a été utilisé sur tous les sommets, avec des inventaires sur de grandes sections sommitales et sur des groupes de quatre carrés de 1 9 1 m. Nous avons observé une diminution générale de la richesse spécifique dans les trois groupes systématiques pour une altitude croissante dans les sections, mais pour les plantes vasculaires seules dans les carrés. En Valais, il y avait davantage de plantes vasculaires que de lichens et de bryophytes sur les ...

"The New Red List of the Italian Flora" includes all the Italian policy species and other species of known conservation concerns for a total of 400 taxa, 65% of which are threatened with extinction. The Red List is based on a huge georeferenced data-set useful for conservation purposes

-Springs are unique but understudied habitats. Diatom communities have received some attention but have remained largely unknown in the south-western Alps. We therefore studied the springs of the south-western extreme of the Alpine mountain range. We analysed epilithic and epiphytic assemblages in 48 springs of different ecomorphological types, located on contrasting lithological substrata (carbonate/siliceous). Moreover, phytosociological relevés were carried out for carbonate springs. The diatom fl ora consisted of 223 taxa. Most (198) of the taxa were included in the Red List, and 12.5% belonged to threatened categories. Characteristic spring taxa (crenophiles) were present. The ecological preferences of crenophilous diatom species described in the eastern Alps were confi rmed. Diatom species characteristic of the lake-littoral zone were found in pool springs. We observed no signifi cant differences in species richness and diversity between epilithic and epiphytic assemblages, but some species showed a preference for bryophytes, and fi ve occurred in the epibryon only. As regards moisture conditions, 15% of the taxa occurred on wet or temporarily dry sites, and 4% lived mostly outside water bodies. The main environmental factors infl uencing diatom assemblages were pH, conductivity, altitude, and shading. The carbonate-substratum crenic vegetation was composed of a mixture of vascular plants and bryophytes, which fi nd their ecological optimum in springs. Bryophyte cover was dominant, with the most abundant taxa belonging to the genus Palustriella. The vegetation corresponded to the Cratoneuretum commutati association.

During a mire vegetation study, conducted mainly in the subalpine-alpine sector of the Western Italian Alps, the ecology of several plant communities and numerous moss species of this kind of vegetation was evaluated. The study area covered the Piedmontese sector of the Graian Alps, the eastern sector of the Aosta Valley as well as certain localities of the Pennine Alps, the Canavese district and the Maritime Alps. They have a rocky substratum representative of the various regional lithologies and include the main sectors characterised by the highest precipitation. Three hundred and twenty two relevées were made using the phytosociological method and the pH and the conductivity of the water table and its depth were measured directly. Cluster Analysis allowed a classification of the samples and the identification of various groups of plant communities. Ordination performed by DCA and CCA allowed us to identify the ecological features of the various plant communities by using the values of the main environmental parameters, measured directly in the field, and certain climatic parameters (altitude and mean annual precipitation) available. The use of climatic parameters is an important result for identifying communities which show greater oceanicity, something that is underlined also by the presence of indicator species such as Sphagnum papillosum and S. subnitens. Furthermore the communities are arranged in a "poor-rich" gradient, and are also profoundly influenced by depth to water table which is inversely correlated to the pH. Therefore we find certain kinds of communities all with a very low water table and which are little affected by its chemistry. Other groups share the fact that the water table is outcropping or near the surface and are distinguishable for their pH values and conductivity. We discuss the different response of the bryophytes and vascular plants of these communities to the environmental parameters considered, in light of their anatomic and functional differences. Bryophytes are more sensitive to environmental and climatic parameters whilst vascular plants are mostly ubiquitous in the relevées with a greater ecological plasticity