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128 NILS MALMERFig. 4. The wet heath Skanor's ljung, Skane. A water.filled depression with "the Rhynchospora community" surroundedby "the Erica tetralix community". Aug. 4, 1952. Photo G. & H. Weimarck. Courtesy of the Skane Ass. for Prot. ofNature.on somewhat sloping ground. The subsoil waterlevel often reaches the surface during winter butusually sinks considerably in summer. The soilprofile is intermediate between a podsol and a gleysoil. The humus layer is rather thick and consists ofpeaty mor with a pH of about 4.5.The E1·ica-Myrica vegetation ("wet heaths")The Erica-Myrica vegetation occurs mainly onhorizontal ground with impeded drainage or inperiodically submerged areas, e.g. along lakeshores. Within this vegetational complex (theheath character of which is somewhat dubious, seebelow) several distinct plant communities . areseparable (GUNVOR RASMUSSON, unpubl.).MYRICA-MOLINIA COMMUNITY. The most commoncommunity, the Myrica gale-Molinia coeruleacommunity, is widely distributed in South Sweden.In south-western Gotaland the dominants areMyrica and Molinia, and the field layer is alsocharacterized by Erica tetralix, Salix repens, Gentianapneumonanthe, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, Potentillaerecta, Viola palustris, Agrostis canina, Oar ex nigra,0. panicea and Sieglingia decurnbens. In the bottomlayer Drepanocladus exannulatus and Sphagnumspp., esp. of the subsecundum group, occur scattered.The proportions between the species are influen.cedi.a. by the intensity of grazing (low intensityhighly favours e.g. Myrica gale). This communityseems to be rather similar in other areas in SouthSweden, except for the absence of the westernspecies of the Erica group in the eastern andnorthern parts. Instead the tall sedges Oarexlasiocarpa and 0. rostrata are more common there.Through several transitional types (W ALDHEIM &WEIMARCK 1943, Table 3) this kind of wet heathmerges into the Myrica gale-Molinia coerulea poorfen vegetation of sloping mires (described in thearticle on "Southern mires"), but it is less related.cf.cta Phytogeog1·. Suec. 50