Integrating demography and distribution modelling for the iconic Leontopodium alpinum Colm. in the Romanian Carpathians

Both climate change and human exploitation are major threats to plant life in mountain environments. One species that may be particularly sensitive to both of these stressors is the iconic alpine flower edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum Colm.). Its populations have declined across Europe due to over-collection for its highly prized flowers. Edelweiss is still subject to harvesting across the Romanian Carpathians but no study has measured to what extent populations are vulnerable to anthropogenic change.

Here we estimated the effects of climate and human disturbance on the fitness of edelweiss. We combined demographic measurements with predictions of future range distribution under climate change to assess the viability of populations across Romania.

We found that per-capita and per-area seed number and seed mass were similarly promoted by both favourable environmental conditions, represented by rugged landscapes with relatively cold winters and wet summers, and reduced exposure to...