 At the highest alpine elevations, these mosaics may give way to a feldmark or, in zones where snow lies into the summer months, to a snow patch community.Sphagnum bog communities of "Sphagnum cristatum" and "Empodisma minus" (spreading rope-rush) occur in stream beds or other low-lying areas.The occurrence of grasslands represents an ecological climax condition, the culmination of a cycle of colonisation of bare ground by woody shrubs which provide protection for seedlings of grass species.