Data from: Eco-evolutionary genomics reveal mountain range-specific adaptation and intraspecific variation in vulnerability to climate change of alpine endemics

Alpine chasmophytes exhibit intraspecific diversification due to range
fragmentation during Holocene warming, complicating predictions of their
climate vulnerability. A lack of understanding of eco-evolutionary
mechanisms driving their response to climate change results in ineffective
conservation efforts. To uncover the genomic basis of their
diversification and explain spatial patterns of their vulnerability, we
combine landscape genomics and species distribution modeling. Our model,
the Campanula lehmanniana complex, occurs in three distinct central Asian
mountain ranges, considered both a biodiversity hotspot and a vascular
plant diversity darkspot. Genome-environment association confirmed the
adaptive basis of intraspecific diversification, driven by numerous loci
of small effect. Genomic and ecological data indicate mountain
range-specific climate sensitivity driven by altitude, temperature, and
precipitation. The cold-dry adapted group from Zeravshan-Hissar Mts will
face niche decline but show a higher degree of preadaptation to future
climate, while the temperate-humid group from Tian Shan shows an opposite
response, with a higher risk of maladaptation despite predicted niche
expansion. Maladapted populations at northern margins may require an
influx of adaptive variation to cope with predicted changes. However,
limited landscape connectivity between sky island habitats, combined with
long migration distances required to minimize genotype-environment
disruption, highlights the role of human-assisted migration in enabling
evolutionary rescue. These results underscore the need to facilitate gene
flow from pre- to maladapted populations and the importance of
population-specific approaches to inform effective conservation strategies
in heterogeneous mountain ecosystems. The results may be relevant to
numerous Central Asian mountain species that show similar phylogeographic
patterns.