The class Festuco-Brometea includes the vegetation of the Eurosiberian steppes and related dry grasslands occurring in warm regions with low rainfall in the temperate zone of Europe. These species-rich plant communites are dominated by grasses and contain a number of dicotyledonous perennial herbs. Soils are poor in nutrients and usually calcareous, but some types of dry grassland also develop on base-poor acidic soils. In Central Europe, some dry-grassland sites are natural remnants of early Holocene steppes, however, most of the dry grasslands are of secondary origin, replacing former forests. Most dry grasslands were traditionally grazed, but some types in more productive habitats were also mown. In the present concept, we also include in this class thermophilous vegetation of herbaceous forest fringes, which has often been classified within the class Trifolio-Geranietea. These communities are mainly composed of dry-grassland species and differ from similar dry grasslands mainly by their dominating species.