Vegetated snow-patch

English name: Vegetated snow-patch

Description (English)

Vegetated areas that retain late-lying snow. Dominants may be mosses, liverworts, macrolichens, graminoids, ferns and small herbs. Snow patches are well developed in boreal and arctic mountains and in subarctic lowlands; they are well represented, though of much smaller extent, above the tree limit in the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians and Caucasus. They are found very locally in the Paeonian mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cordillera Central, Monti Sibillini, Abruzzi, Scottish Highlands and Sudeten.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification

Quick facts

EUNIS habitat type code E4.1

Vegetation types

Relation to vegetation types (syntaxa)

Name Definition Alternatives Reftext
Salicion herbaceae Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et Jenny 1926 Snow-bed communities on siliceous substrates of alpine and nival belts of mountains of nemoral zone of Europe Luzulion spadiceae Rübel 1933; Nardo-Salicion herbaceae Englisch 1999 Schaminee et al, 2012
Festucion picturatae Krajina 1933 corr. Dúbravcová 2007 Snow-bed tall grasslands of stabilised silicolous scree gullies irrigated by melt waters of alpine belt of Alps and Carpathians Festucion pictae Krajina 1933 Schaminee et al, 2012
Salici herbaceae-Caricion lachenalii Béguin et Theurillat 1982 Vegetation of sandy-gravely siliceous alluvia dominated by arctic-alpine species in alpine belt of Alps Schaminee et al, 2012
Ranunculo-Oxyrion didynae Nordhagen 1943 Vegetation of base-rich water-saturated solifluction herb-rich snowfields from alpine belt of Scandinavia and middle arctic zone Saxifrago-Ranunculion nivalis (Nordhagen 1943) Dierßen 1984; Saxifrago stellaris-Oxyrion digynae Gjaerevoll 1956; Luzulion arcuatae Elvebakk 1985; Ranunculo-Oxyrion digynae Nordhagen 1936; Saxifrago stellaris-Oxyrion digynae Gjaerevoll 1950 Schaminee et al, 2012
Hyalopoion ponticae Rabotnova et Onipchenko in Onipchenko 2002 Snow-bed communities on siliceous substrates in alpine belt of Caucasus Colpodion variegati Korotkov 2006; Saxifragion sibiricae Onipchenko 2002; Sibbaldion semiglabrae Rabotnova in Onipchenko et al 1987 Schaminee et al, 2012
Ranunculion crenati Lakušic 1968 Snow-bed communities on siliceous substrates in alpine belt of central and southern Balkan Peninsula Ranunculion crenati Lakušic 1970 Schaminee et al, 2012
Arabidion caeruleae Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et Jenny 1926 Vegetation of snow-beds on stabilised calcareous screes of alpine-subnival belts of European mountains Salici herbaceae-Arabidion caeruleae Englisch 1999; Salicion retusae Horvat 1949; Soldanello alpinae-Salicion retusae Englisch 1999 Schaminee et al, 2012
Sedion candollei Rivas-Mart., Fernández González et Loidi in Rivas-Mart. et al. 2011 Snow-bed communities of cryo-oromediterranean belt of Iberian Peninsula Sedion candollei Rivas-Mart., Fernández-González et Loidi 1999 nom. mut. propos.; Mucizonion sedoidis Rivas-Mart., Fernández-González et Loidi 1999 Schaminee et al, 2012
Cassiopo-Salicion herbaceae Nordhagen 1943 Arctic and boreo-arctic snow-bed dwarf-scrub communities on siliceous substrates of Scandinavia, Svalbard, Iceland and Greenland Herbaceion Du Rietz 1950 (orig. form); Herbaceion Gjaerevoll 1956 (orig. form); Luzulion arcticae (Nordhagen 1936) Gjaervoll 1956; Luzulion nivalis Nordhagen 1936; Salicion herbaceae Du Rietz 1942; Cassiopeto-Salicion herbaceae Nordhagen 1936 (orig. form) Schaminee et al, 2012
Ranunculo hyperborei-Drepanocladion revolventis Philippi 1973 Moss-rich hygrophilous tundra of Svalbard Schaminee et al, 2012

Species mentioned in habitat description

Not available

Other classifications

Classification Code Habitat type name Relationship type
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 200112 36.1 Snow-patch communities wider
CORINE Land Cover 3.3.3. Sparsely vegetated areas n/a
Ramsar Wetland Types Va Alpine wetlands overlap
Phase 1 habitat classification (UK) 1993 D4 Montane heath/dwarf forb wider
Biodiversity Broad Habitat Classification (UK) 15 Montane habitats wider
Milieux Naturels de Suisse 1998 4.4 Combes à neige wider
Biotopes of the Czech Republic 2001 A3 SNĚHOVÁ VYLEŽISKA (Snow beds) overlap
Biotopes of Slovakia 1996 9400000 Snehové výležiská n/a
For relation to plant communities (syntaxa), see Vegetation types

History

Classification Code Habitat type name Relationship type
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200410 E4.1 Vegetated snow-patch same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200308 E4.1 Snow-patch grassland same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 200202 E4.1 Snow-patch grassland same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199910 E4.1 Snow-patch grassland same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199811 E4.1 Snow-patch grassland same
EUNIS Habitat Classification 199712 E4.1 Snow-patch grassland habitats same
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 199905 36.1 Part of Snow-patch communities wider
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1997 36.1 Part of Snow-patch communities wider
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1996 36.1   wider
Palaearctic Habitat Classification 1993 36.1   wider
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1991 36.1   wider
CORINE Biotopes Classification 1989 36.1   wider
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