Snow buttercup snowbed communities

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].