Plants inhabiting high alpine and nival zones are considered as living in an extreme environment. Extreme environments have been attractive for explorers for centuries, and nowadays they also attract tourists. Fortunately biological science is becoming increasingly aware that these remote habitats provide challenging questions that will help to understand the limits of life functions. Biota of cold, extreme environments have been brought closer to the scientific community and to the public by international activities such as the International Year of the Mountains (2002) or the International Polar Year (2007–2009)
