Sub-Atlantic semi-dry calcareous grassland

Description (English)

More or less mesophile, closed formations dominated by perennial, tuft-forming grasses, colonizing relatively deep, mostly calcareous soils. Generally species-rich, these communities may be overwhelmed by the highly social Brachypodium pinnatum.Their range extends from the British Isles, Denmark, the Low Countries and northern Germany to the Cantabric range, the Pyrenees, Catalonia, the southern Alps and the Central Apennines, extending east to the Bohemian Quadrangle, beyond which they are replaced by the vicariant formations of the Cirsio-Brachypodion, to the Wienerwald, Styria and Illyria. Bromus erectus and Brachypodium pinnatum often dominate, other grasses include Koeleria pyramidata, Festuca guestfalica, Festuca rupicola, Festuca lemanii, Avenula pubescens, Sesleria albicans, Briza media, Carex caryophyllea and Carex flacca. Herbs: Gentianella germanica, Trifolium montanum, Ononis repens, Medicago lupulina, Ranunculus bulbosus, Cirsium acaule, Euphrasia stricta, Dianthus deltoides, Potentilla neumanniana (Potentilla tabernaemontani, Potentilla verna), Anthyllis vulneraria, Galium verum, Euphorbia brittingeri (Euphorbia verrucosa), Hippocrepis comosa, Scabiosa columbaria, Centaurea scabiosa, Carlina vulgaris, Viola hirta, and numerous orchid species. Forming a bridge between the Mediterranean region and thermophile sites to the north, they can be identified by their high representation of Mediterranean species in the north and of Euro-Siberian ones in the south.

Source: EUNIS habitat classification