The Convention on Biological Diversity ( CBD ) aims at the conservation of all three levels of biodiversity, that is, ecosystems, species and genes. Genetic diversity represents evolutionary potential and is important for ecosystem functioning. Unfortunately, genetic diversity in natural populations is hardly considered in conservation strategies because it is difficult to measure and has been hypothesised to co‐vary with spec...

Climatic history and ecology are considered the most important factors moulding the spatial pattern of genetic diversity. With the advent of molecular markers, species’ historical fates have been widely explored. However, it has remained speculative what role ecological factors have played in shaping spatial genetic structures within species. With an unprecedented, dense large‐scale sampling and genome‐screening, we tested how...

Aim To test the influence of various species traits, elevation and phylogeographical history on the genetic diversity of high‐mountain plants in the Alps and Carpathians. Location The regular sampling grid comprised the whole range of the European Alps and the Carpathians. Methods Twenty‐two high‐mountain plant species were exhaustively sampled and their genetic diversity was assessed with amplified fragment length polymorphis...