The alliance Impatienti-Stachyion includes nutrient-demanding herbaceous vegetation occurring in partially shaded habitats on forest edges, canopy openings and clearings from the lowlands to the alpine timberline. The stands are dominated by tall herbs which also occur in the forest herb layer, but they form dense stands only on more sun-exposed sites. This vegetation type usually develops directly as a consequence of disturbance in forest stands, but it can also develop out of abandoned grasslands or stands of annual weeds. Soils are mesic to wet; unlike in the alliance Geo urbani-Alliarion petiolatae they do not dry out in summer. In contrast to vegetation of the class Epilobietea angustifolii, which is also typical of disturbed forest sites, stands of the Impatienti-Stachyion are rich in nutrient-demanding species and lack many acidophilous species.