The class Polygono arenastri-Poëtea annuae includes disturbed vegetation of trampled habitats, formed mostly by annual plants with a ruderal or stress-tolerant life strategy. Most species are short, with prostrate growth, tough stems, creeping stolons, or leaf rosettes. Most of them produce many seeds, which are dispersed on human or animal feet or on vehicle wheels. Trampling leads to soil compaction, especially on loamy substrata, where long periods of desiccation can alternate with short-term surface waterlogging. The present syntaxonomical concept includes the vegetation of trampled habitats on mesic soils with predominance of perennial species, as well as meadow plant communities into the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, while the vegetation on drier or more frequently trampled soils dominated by annual species is assigned in the class Polygono-Poëtea.