Meadows developed on moderately to very nutrient-rich, alluvial or fertilized, wet or damp soils, often inundated at least in winter, and relatively lightly mowed or grazed, in lowland, collinar and montane western and central Europe, south to western Iberia. They form a transition between the false oatgrass mesophile meadows, the oligotrophic Molinion formations and the small sedge and large sedge communities. They include a large number of distinctive and often species-rich communities, many of which harbour specialized, rare and threatened species of plants and animals.