This habitat type includes, in particular, springfens, but also springs without the surrounding fens which are important habitats for many rare species of animals and plants.
Springs and springfens are located where groundwater flows or seeps to the surface – at the foot of slopes and brinks or in the riparian area of water bodies. There are about 3,000 known springs in Estonia, most of them small (with a flow rate of less than ten litres per second). The special, very species-rich vegetation of a springfen is created by water rich in oxygen and minerals, which seeps through the mineral soil and the peat layer covering it. There are very few unspoiled springfens left in Estonia. Those where travertine is deposited are treated as a separate habitat type (7220).
The most water-rich springs in Estonia, which provide up to several hundred litres of water per second, breach surface at karst areas, most of them on the outskirts of the Pandivere Uplands – at the Põlula, Imastu, Roosna-Alliku, Norra-Oostrik regions. In Southern Estonia, there are many small springs on the ancient valley brinks and at the foot of the moraine hills. Springfens are found mainly in the outskirts of the Pandivere and Sakala uplands and in Saare County.
Includes the following habitat types according to Paal:
- 3131 (spring fen site type);
- 6121 (watercourse site type).