Snow buttercup snowbed communities

Description (English)

Open snowbed communities of the alpine level of the boreal and arcto-alpine zones of Scandinavian mountains forming on level calcareous substrates often waterlogged the whole year, in the proximity of melting snow or cold springs, on north-facing slopes, with prolonged snow-lie. Vascular plants are characteristically scattered, with great variation in the ground layer, with an often broken moss carpet, bare patches of gravel and stones. Characteristic species, often hygrophilous, include Ranunculus nivalis, Ranunculus sulphureus, Salix herbacea, Arabis alpina, Polygonum viviparum (Bistorta vivipara), Cerastium cerastoides, Minuartia biflora, Oxyria digyna, Taraxacum croceum, Viola biflora, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Saxifraga rivularis, Saxifraga nivalis, Saxifraga tenuis, Saussurea alpina, Sibbaldia procumbens, Juncus biglumis, Poa alpina.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification