This is a forest dominated by Picea abies, locally accompanied by Abies alba, with a herb layer composed of species typical of spruce forests on mesic soils such as acidophilous grasses and Vaccinium myrtillus, and species typical of wet nutrient-rich soils. The moss layer is well developed, containing many hygrophilous species including those of the genus Sphagnum. It occurs on flat bottoms of broad valleys and basins with wet acidic soils and temperature inversions caused by cold air pooling. In most cases these forests grow in small patches surrounded by beech or mixed beech-conifer forests. On average they occur at lower altitudes than the previous two associations of spruce forests.