Dry, short grasslands, often rich in lichens and mosses, colonizing western and central European soils with a high content in heavy metals such as zinc and lead, and comprising uniquely adapted species, ecotypes or populations mostly related to, or derived from, otherwise montane, boreomontane or steppic species; heavy metal grasslands of distinctly alpine affinities, though spanning an altitudinal range that extends from the montane level and lowland dealpine stations to the subalpine and alpine levels, are included. Vegetation of alliance Violetalia calaminariae.