© 2013 CISO - Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici Material aND MetHODS Study area The study was carried out from 2004 to 2011 in the Val Troncea Regional Park (6°56’28’’E, 44°57’28’’N), which is part of the Cotian Alps Protected Areas (Piedmont Re- gion, north-west Italy). The Park area extends for more than 3280 ha and it is characterized by Southeast-North- west orientation and high average altitude (from 1650 to 3280 m a.s.l.). Land cover is mainly characterized by ex- tensive alpine grasslands (54% of total surface), rocks (15%) and larch Larix decidua forests (12%). The climate is characterized by a yearly average precipitation of about 900 mm, 202 of which occurring in summer period. The mean annual temperature is 2.1 °C, with monthly means ranging from -6 °C in January to 10.8 °C in July (Bian- cotti et al. 1998). Hunting has been banned within the Park since 1980, although it still occurs in the surrounding area. rock partridge counts The occurrence of the species was detected by means of playback counts in spring (breeding season) and with point- ing dogs in summer (post-breeding season). From 2004 to 2011, playback counts were performed yearly from the mid-May to mid-June, in a sampling area of 500 ha (Tab. 1). Playbacks were conducted in the early morning (5:30- iNtrODUCtiON Rock partridge Alectoris graeca saxatilis is a threatened species included in the Annex I and II of the 2009/147/ ECC Directive, and in the Annex III of the Bern Conven- tion on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natu- ral Habitats. Rock partridge status was studied more in France (Ber- nard Laurent & Leonard 2000) and in north-eastern (Me- riggi et al. 1998, Cattadori 2003) and central Italy (Amici et al. 2006, Amici et al. 2011, Sorace et al. 2011) than in north-western Italy, where little information is available for this species (Bocca 1990, Gaydou & Giovo 2006, Mau- rino 2007). Moreover, among these studies, only Bernard Laurent & Leonard (2000) investigated the relationships between rock partridge presence and climatic factors like snowfall, which is known to be a limiting factor for winter survival (Bernard Laurent & Leonard 2000). Consequent- ly, the goals of this study were: I) to perform a middle-term monitoring plan in a high alti- tude alpine environment in the Italian Western Alps, II) to check rock partridge population status and dynam- ics in this area, and III) to assess the relationships between rock partridge presence and snow cover. Status of rock partridge Alectoris graeca saxatilis in Val Troncea Regional Park (Piedmont, north-west Italy) Luca Maurino 1,2 *, MassiMiLiano Probo 1 , aLessandra GorLier 1 , MicheLe Lonati 1 1 University of Torino, Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences - Via L. da Vinci 44, I-10095 Grugliasco (TO) 2 Ente di gestione aree protette Alpi Cozie, Parco Naturale Val Troncea - Via della Pineta, Fraz. Ruà, 10060 Pragelato (TO) *Corresponding author: Luca Maurino (luca.maurino@unito.it) abstract – An eight-year monitoring (2004–2011) of rock partridge Alectoris graeca saxatilis was carried out in Val Troncea Region- al Park (Piedmont, north-west Italy). Since 2004, standardized counts were performed by playback technique in order to check out rock partridge presence and spring density (males/surface) within an area of 500 ha. Since 2007, the reproductive success (chicks/adults) was assessed during August and September with pointing dogs within an area variable between 300 and 670 ha. From 2008 to 2011, both the spring density (from 2.3 to 1.2 males/100 ha) and the reproductive success (from 3.6 to 0.3 chicks/adults) decreased, indicating a marked decline in the rock partridge population which appeared to be highly related to an increase in yearly snow cover. Key-words: Western Italian Alps, counts, snow cover, Alectoris graeca saxatilis. 129 Avocetta 37: 129-132 (2013)