R43y Cantabrian Festuca eskia closed grasslands
Description
Alpine closed mesophile grasslands dominated by the Cantabro-Pyrenean endemic Festuca eskia in relatively deep and well-developed soils, at somewhat lower elevations than R433. The habitat is fragmented but widely distributed in the highest siliceous summits of the Cantabrian mountains. These communities, rich in European mountain species, occupy an intermediate position between, and sometimes intermingling with, the less steep and more grazed R43z and the more exposed and cryoturbated R43x. They can be understood as an acidophilous analogue of R441. A new regional level IV unit is created, since the name of R431 (“Alpic Nardus stricta swards and related communities), under which EUNIS includes its most similar communities (R4314: “Pyrenean closed Festuca eskia grassland) would lead to confusion with our R43z, which EUNIS would include in its R435.
Floristic Composition
Frequent species
Indicator species
Regional distribution
