Exploitation of ‘Site-Specific’ Alpine Grass Germplasm for Revegetation at High Altitude

Abstract

The use of ‘site-specific’ germplasm, that is, species adapted to the prevailing pedo-climatic conditions and native to the same geographic context, is increasingly recommended for revegetation interventions at high altitude. Germplasm of two Alpine grass species, viz Phleum rhaeticum and Poa alpina, collected at 12 and 15 sites, respectively, across three valleys of the Rhaetian Alps, Italy, was evaluated for a set of morpho-physiological characters in a mountain (1,300 m a. s. l.) and a lowland location (81 m a. s. l.), with the main goal of identifying superior populations for further activities of selection and the secondary aim of assessing the effect exerted by an environment markedly different from those of origin on growth and seed production of site-specific species. One valley featured a slight trend of better seed yield and more suitable plant morphology. However, individual collection sites were by far the most important source of variation in both species. The collection of natural populations across a given mountain district seems an appropriate strategy to gather useful genetic variation in site-specific species. The environment of evaluation interacted with the germplasm, affecting the morphology, seed yield, disease susceptibility and survival of site-specific germplasm. Under the Italian conditions, growth and seed multiplication in mountain sites is advised.