This alliance includes species-poor alpine grasslands occurring in habitats with deep, long-lasting snow cover. They are dominated by the tussock-forming grass Nardus stricta. Compared to the grasslands of the Juncion trifidi, this vegetation is confined to flat or slightly concave landforms which are less exposed to wind and support development of closed-canopy grasslands. The geographic range of this alliance includes Scandinavia and the Sudeten Mountains. The Nardus stricta grasslands of the Alps are richer in species and therefore classified within another alliance, the Nardion strictae.