Peri-Alpine Davall sedge fens

Description (English)

Species-rich calcareous fens of the Alps, the Alpine piedmonts and peripheral plateaux, the Swiss plateau, the French, Swiss, Swabian, Franconian Jura and their periphery, often with a mixed dominance, usually with a particular prominence of Carex davalliana, Carex panicea, Carex hostiana, Carex nigra, Carex flacca or Eriophorum latifolium, sometimes of Carex microglochin, and with Carex lepidocarpa, Carex capillaris, Carex nigra, Carex demissa, Carex flava, Carex pulicaris, Blysmus compressus, Schoenus ferrugineus, Eleocharis quinqueflora, Juncus articulatus, Scirpus cespitosus, Molinia caerulea, Tofieldia calyculata, Allium schoenoprasum, Potentilla erecta, Swertia perennis, Primula farinosa, Parnassia palustris, Pinguicula vulgaris and a moss layer formed by Drepanocladus intermedius, Cratoneuron glaucum, Campylium stellatum. These extremely species-rich communities are still represented by a few large, very well preserved examples on the Bavarian plateau. These are a refuge for many rare species, including the relict, threatened Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum and the orchids Dactylorhiza traunsteineri, Dactylorhiza ochroleuca, Dactylorhiza incarnata, Herminium monorchis, Epipactis palustris. Elsewhere in their range, the Davall sedge fens have undergone a drastic reduction, leading to extinction in many areas.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification