Figure 1 Study area and investigated species. a) View of the Dolomites from the north (Conturines massif) towards the southwest, showing the typical geomorphology which results in a sky-island system of alpine habitats. b) Density of occurrence along the elevation gradient for all known populations of each species. c) Distribution ranges ofCampanula morettiana (blue dots and solid line), Primula tyrolensis (pink dots and short-dashed line) and Saxifraga facchinii (red dots and long-dashed line). White triangles highlight the Piave Valley. Green-colored areas represent carbonate bedrock, which is suitable for the study species. The gray scale in the background represents the elevation from 100m to 3343m a.s.l. Maps were generated with UTM 32 N projection, with datum WGS84. Photo of landscape, C. morettiana and S. facchinii by F. Rota, photo of P. tyrolensis by J. Nascimbene.