Xerophile, often calcicolous, open Pinus sylvestris or Pinus sylvestris and Pinus uncinata forests of the montane level of inner Alpine valleys submitted to extreme continental climate (upper Durance, Ubaye, upper Tin‚e, Val di Susa, Maurienne, Val d'Aoste, Alto Adige (Val Venosta), Upper Engadine, Vintschgau, Virgental), rich in leguminous plants such as Ononis rotundifolia, Ononis cenisia, Astragalus austriacus, Astragalus purpureus, Coronilla minima, Onobrychis saxatilis and with a shrub layer comprising Juniperus communis, Juniperus sabina, Berberis vulgaris, Amelanchier ovalis.