The alliance Magno-Caricion gracilis includes marshes dominated by tall wetland graminoids such as the rhizomatous sedges Carex acuta, C. acutiformis, C. disticha. C. riparia, C. vesicaria and C. vulpina, the cespitose sedge C. paniculata, and a rhizomatous grass, Phalaris arundinaceaá. The stands are usually species-poor due to the high cover of dominant species. Vegetation belonging to this alliance occurs in shallow littoral zones of fishponds, oxbows, alluvial pools, depressions in wet meadows and on banks of lentic river sections. In the course of terrestrialization it usually replaces reed vegetation of the alliance Phragmition australis. Vegetation of the Magno-Caricion gracilis generally occurs in nutrient-richer habitats and at lower altitudes than that of the Magno-Caricion elatae. It is distributed across Europe and in some parts of Asia.